Words left unspoken
by starlight2205
Summary: AU. Peyton knew she was pregnant and let Lucas leave for college without telling him. What happens when he moves back to Tree Hill 16 years later, married to Brooke, with a daughter of their own? Prequel to Heartbreak Echoes
1. The secrets we keep

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters.

The secrets we keep.

Chapter 1.

Everyone always says "Don't worry, things will work out for the best." Best for whom? Best for the girl who wound up pregnant and alone at 17? Or best for the boy who went to college on a full ride scholarship with a broken heart? Peyton had pondered these things for years. 16 years to be exact. It was hard for her to believe that 16 years had passed since her relationship with Lucas had ended. She had loved that boy more than she had loved anyone in her life. That's why when she found out she was pregnant she couldn't bring herself to tell him. He was going to college in a few months on a full ride basketball scholarship and she couldn't bear the thought of asking him to give that up. So she had done the only thing that she thought she could at the time. She had broken up with him. She lied to his face and told him that she wasn't in love with him. That it had all been a lie. She watched his heart break and felt hers break as well.

6 months later with Lucas in Raleigh, Peyton had given birth to their daughter alone. She was beautiful with blonde hair and big eyes. Peyton named her Lauren. Lauren Briane Sawyer. Peyton had chosen Briane because it meant strength, and at the time she knew that her daughter would need strength to live the life that Peyton had chosen for them.

Peyton was blessed with Karen Roe. Karen had come to Peyton when Lauren was only weeks old. Karen had an inkling that Peyton was hiding something and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Peyton holding a baby that looked remarkably like Lucas. Peyton had confirmed Karen's suspicions and although Karen had understood the young girls reasons for not telling Lucas, she tried to convince her that Lucas had a right to know. Peyton was adamant that the secret be kept and Karen had finally come to terms with the fact that her son would never know about Lauren.

When Lauren was 6 months old, Lucas came home to Tree Hill for the summer. With Brooke in tow, they had announced that they had gotten married in Raleigh and were expecting their first child. Peyton hated having to hide out but she didn't want to see Lucas and Brooke together. It was bad enough just imagining Lucas doting on a very pregnant Brooke. Luckily the summer passed and with Lucas and Brooke back at school Peyton felt she could breathe again.

Karen passed the news of Charity Anne Scott's birth along to Peyton. She was 9 months, almost to the day, younger than Lauren. Peyton had a hard time dealing with the news and had then asked Karen not to tell her anymore about Lucas and his new family. Karen had respected her wishes. This was how Peyton ended up lost in thought on a beautiful August day 16 years later. Peyton had found out from Haley and Nathan that Lucas and Brooke had purchased a house in Tree Hill and were moving back with their daughter.

"Mom, the teams having a pick-up game at the River Court. We're cheering, be back later." Lauren called over her shoulder as she ran down the porch steps waving her pom-poms. Peyton smiled at her daughter as she ran down the sidewalk. Lauren was a beauty. She had Peyton's blond curls and Luke's big blue eyes. Peyton had tried to discourage Lauren from cheerleading. It had brought back memories of she and Brooke cheering for the Lucas and Nathan. But Lauren, who was affectionately called the blonde tornado, had persisted. Finally Peyton relented. Lauren was even up for the captain's spot when school started in a few weeks.

The sight of Jake Jagelski pulling into her driveway snapped Peyton back to reality. She and Jake had fallen into a comfortable relationship when they discovered that their daughters were becoming fast friends a few years ago. Now Peyton and Jake were almost as inseparable as Jenny and Lauren. Almost. Peyton had been dodging Jake's attempts to talk about marriage for the past few months. It was putting a slight strain on their relationship. Peyton was honest with herself. She didn't want to hurt Jake by saying 'no', so she just tried to avoid the question. She knew that most of her heart still belonged to a 16 year old memory. Explaining that to Jake would likely end their relationship and Peyton was content with things just as they were.

Why are you so quiet today?" Jake asked, sitting down on the porch swing beside her.

"Just enjoying the silence." Peyton chuckled. Jake laughed with her.

"The blonde tornado go to the river court?" Jake asked.

Peyton nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, Jenny too. I swear those girls would do anything for an excuse to cheer." He laughed. Peyton smiled. Some girls cheered because they thought it would make them popular or to hang out with hot guys, not Jenny and Lauren though. To them cheering was an art. They truly loved it.

Peyton finally took notice of the pained look on Jake's face.

"What's the matter?" Peyton asked with concern.

"I uh, I heard some news today. I guess Brooke and Lucas are moving back here. In fact I drove by their house and saw the moving vans." Jake said carefully. He knew that Lucas and anything concerning him was a sore subject for her. She had told him Lauren's true parentage very early on in their relationship.

"I know. Haley told me a few days ago." She replied. Jake nodded and wrapped an arm around her.

"You know that Lauren is going to ask about him sooner or later." Jake said. This was also a sore subject with Peyton. It was sheer luck that Lauren had yet to show any real interest in knowing about her father. Right after Lauren and Jenny met in middle school she had asked about her father. Peyton had simply said that some kids have mommies and daddies and some only have a mommy or a daddy. That was enough for Lauren at the time since she knew that Jenny only had a dad.

"I know." Peyton sighed. And with Luke moving back it was bound to be sooner than later.


	2. Home is where the heart is

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Brooke was emotionally exhausted. The drive up from Raleigh was pure hell. Charity had done nothing but bitch and moan the whole way. She was too much like Lucas sometimes. Far too moody for Brooke's tastes.

"Have I mentioned how much this utterly and completely blows?" Charity moaned for about the fiftieth time.

"You know I may have heard that once or twice." Brooke replied with her voice full of sarcasm. She and Charity had a total love hate relationship. In fact about the only thing they ever agreed on was cheerleading. Which was most of Charity's reason for not wanting to move.

"I know you just made captain, I know you're leaving your friends. Trust me, I know. But this will be great. It'll be a new start for all of us." Brooke said, forcing her tone to be more cheerful.

"You mean a new start for me and dad. In case you forgot its not like you're every home." Charity replied icily.

Brooke had long passed the point of wishing that Charity had ridden with Lucas. Brooke had hoped that by having her daughter ride with her she might force some sort of bonding but it appeared her plan was backfiring. So yes, this move was a last ditch attempt at saving her marriage. The therapist had suggested that neutral territory, a change of scene, might be needed. What Brooke really needed was for Lucas to act like he gave a damn if she were here or there. That was the real reason that she jetted around promoting her fashion line and doing fashion shows herself. Sure, it would have been all too easy to send an assistant to supervise her shows. But it was far more exciting to do it herself. Plus no one she worked with acted like she didn't exist. Lucas could go days, especially when he was writing, without uttering a word to her. Charity was never home either so what was the point of sitting around a big empty house virtually all alone?

"That's about to change. In fact I had thought about seeing if Tree Hill High needed some volunteer help with the cheerleading squad." Brooke said evenly. She knew Charity would just _love_ that.

"No freaking way! Absolutely not." Charity replied adamantly, crossing her arms as she stared out the window.

Luckily for both of them Brooke pulled up behind Lucas just then and got out to survey the new home he had purchased for them. Or that she had actually, which was another sore spot in their marriage.

"You ladies have fun?" Lucas asked walking up to put his arm around Charity. Charity rolled her eyes and walked up to the house.

"I guess that's a no?" He asked Brooke who was walking around the car towards him.

"Oh it was a barrel of laughs, let me tell you." Brooke replied sarcastically.

Lucas sighed. She knew he wished more than anything that Brooke and Charity had a better relationship. It was mostly his fault that they didn't. When Brooke complained that she had no mothering instinct he'd just taken over. Charity had come to rely completely on Lucas. That was when Brooke had started taking longer business trips. When she did come home she felt like an outsider. Like she was imposing on their lives. So she stopped coming home at all. It was when Charity had been in a car wreck the year before that things started changing. First was the fact that Lucas didn't even call her. Second was that Charity hadn't needed or wanted her anyway. When she had returned to find Charity in physical therapy she flew into a rage. Lucas had told her then that either they get some counseling or they were through.

"Why is she so difficult Lucas? Can't she see I'm trying? I mean its not like I had any parenting examples to follow." Brooked sighed. Well technically she had been following her parents example.

"I know you're trying. Charity will come around, once she sees that you aren't going to fly the coop again. She's just like her mother, her bark is way worse than her bite." Lucas said with a smile.

"Wait, did you just refer to me as a chicken and a dog in the same sentence?" Brooke asked, pretending to be insulted.

"Aww I'm sorry, I must have caught a glimpse of your scrawny little chicken legs." Lucas laughed. Brooke playfully smacked his arm. She liked when they could play around. It reminded her of the way they used to be. Or maybe it was being back in Tree Hill. Maybe the therapist had been right after all. Maybe they both just needed to come home.


	3. Suspicions arise

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Brooke had never been so bored in her life. After spending a week unpacking and doing other mundane tasks she felt restless. Charity was starting school at Tree Hill high today, Lucas was finally settled in enough to start writing again and that left Brooke with nothing to do.

After a long shower and spending most of the morning pampering herself she decided to go to the school and see about volunteering with the squad. Besides, she wanted to be there when Charity tried out for the squad. Moral support and all.

The drive to the school brought back a flood of memories for Brooke. Mainly of her and Peyton rushing to class after being out far too late the night before and oversleeping. She had been wondering about Peyton. She hoped her friend still lived in Tree Hill. She really missed her and hoped they could reconnect.

When Brooke arrived she was told by the principal that of course she was welcome to volunteer. After all, she was a former Raven's cheer captain. He told her that tryouts were starting in just minutes, so she headed over to the gym. Walking inside was like going back in time for Brooke. Most of her fondest memories of high school took place in this very gym. The fondest being the first time she had taken notice of Lucas Scott. She chuckled remembering how she had changed in the backseat of his car. He had been so nervous, especially when Whitey had shown up.

Brooke spotted Charity sitting in the bleachers listening to the coach giving a classic pre-tryout pep talk. Charity looked almost exactly like Brooke had at 16. The only trace of Lucas in the girls features were her big blue eyes. Brooke sat on the bleachers and turned to survey the rest of the squad who were standing behind the coach. The coach was starting to introduce the squad.

"Lila Mason, Nikki Cooper, Brianna Larson, Jenny Jagelski, and Lauren Sawyer. Now, these ladies will be happy to help you in any way you need. Alright, they are going to teach you our welcome cheer, and in 45 minutes you'll perform with them and I'll decide who will become a Raven's cheerleader. Also, I'll be announcing our new captain at the end of practice." Coach Martin finished up and took a seat to watch the girls work.

Brooke had smiled when she heard Jenny Jagelski's name called. When she heard Lauren Sawyer, her stomach dropped. The girl had Peyton's blonde curls. She had Peyton's build, but the rest of her screamed Lucas Scott. As much as Charity didn't look like Lucas, Lauren did. Brooke's mouth had gone so dry she couldn't even swallow. How could a girl who looked to be Charity's age, have Peyton's last name, but look like the spitting image of her husband?

Brookes mind was racing. Obviously she couldn't be Lucas's. Lucas would never had withheld something like that from her. She had also speculated that Peyton had cheated on Lucas, why else would she have broken up with him after being so in love. Perhaps Lauren was the product of Peyton's affair. That had to be it, Brooke told herself.

Finally it was time for Charity to perform. Brooke felt happiest watching her daughter cheer. Charity's love for cheerleading shone in her eyes. Brooke felt sorry for the other mothers who were sitting near her. They were fretting and worrying over whether their daughters would make the squad. Brooke knew she had no reason to worry.

Charity did her mother proud. She nailed the routine and her clear voice rang out above everyone else. Brooke smiled at her and gave her the thumbs up sign as she was walking off the court.

Coach Martin finished making notations on her clipboard. Finally she stood up and addressed the anxious crowd.

"Very nicely done ladies. Joining our squad this year will be Hilary Osgood, Bella Davidson and Charity Scott. Also, after watching that performance I've decided that I can't assign only one girl the title of captain. I saw no less than three cheerleaders who were deserving. We've had co-captains before and I think we will again this season. The co-captains for this year will be Lauren Sawyer and Charity Scott." Coach Martin finished smiling at her two new captains.

"I know you're new here Charity, but I read in your file you had been elected captain of your old squad and I definitely saw why. I hope you'll be an inspiration to our squad. And Lauren, you always give 110 percent and you always shine on the court. I know you'll make us proud this year." Coach Martin said dismissing the girls.

Brooke all but ran up to Charity. She squealed in delight and hugged her daughter.

"Mom, you're embarrassing me." Charity said with a smile. Brooke knew that she was pleased she had come to watch her though.

"Charity right? Congratulations." Lauren said walking up to the pretty brunette. Lauren held out her hand for Charity and she shook it with a smile.

"I'm Lauren Sawyer. Here let me give you my number and you can give me a call later and we can get a practice schedule set up. Oh and you can grab a copy of the calendar with the games on it in the athletic office." Lauren said, writing her name and number on a scrap of paper.

Brooke had been trying to hold her tongue, but she had to ask.

"Lauren, what are your parent's names?" Brooke asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"My mom is Peyton Sawyer and um, I don't know my dad." Lauren trailed off quietly as a blush rose in her cheeks.

Brooke felt badly for embarrassing the girl.

"I went to school with your mom. She was my best friend, actually. We cheered together here." Brooke said quickly.

Lauren's eyes lit up. The only person she knew from her moms past was Jake, Jenny's dad. Her mom often talked to someone named Haley, but she had never actually met her. Oh and Karen. Her mom had said that Karen was the mother of an old friend, but Lauren hadn't met that person either.

"Wow, I was beginning to think my mom didn't have any friends." Lauren laughed.

Brooke tilted her head, trying to understand what Lauren meant.

"Its just that she doesn't like to talk about when she was younger. Other than Karen and Jake I don't know anyone else who knew my mom when she was my age." Lauren explained.

"Karen? Karen Roe?" Brooke asked with a confused expression on her face. Why would Peyton keep in contact with Lucas's mom?

Lauren nodded.

"Yep, I've known her since before I can remember. In fact I work at this dance club attached to her café. My mom started it when she was my age. Its called Tric." Lauren said proudly.

"Why don't you tell your mom to stop by sometime? I'm sure she knows where we live and I'd love to catch up with her." Brooke suggested.

Lauren nodded that she would and waved bye to them and walked out with Jenny. Brooke's eyes clouded over in thought. She hoped Peyton would take her up on her invitation. Brooke had quite a few questions for her old friend.


	4. Somebody to love

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton was trying to wait patiently for Lauren to get home. She was a bundle of nerves as she sat at the table sipping her tea. She hadn't been sleeping well. Her nightmares were coming more frequently now that Lucas was back in Tree Hill. Since Lauren's birth Peyton had occasionally dreamt that Lucas found out about her and pulled a total Nikki, by running off with her. As Lauren had gotten older the dreams changed. Either he took her to court for custody and won and Lauren was terrified of living with a stranger or even worse, she was happy to be away from the mother who had lied to her for her whole life. Peyton shivered at the thought.

Just then Lauren came bounding up the steps shrieking.

"Mom, Mom! I made captain! Well, co-captain actually but still. Oh my gosh I can hardly believe it!" Lauren squealed excitedly.

Peyton's face broke into a big smile. She was ecstatic for Lauren but even happier to see her home and in one piece.

"I want to hear everything." Peyton said smiling as she invited Lauren to sit down with her.

"Well, there were about 10 girls trying out. We taught them the welcome cheer and then they performed with us. There was this one girl, she was so good. She's actually my co-captain, which is weird since she's new, but if only you had seen how good she was." Lauren babbled on enthusiastically.

Peyton's smile faltered slightly when Lauren mentioned a new girl. Nah it couldn't be, Peyton told herself. But she would be Brooke Davis's, well, Brooke Scott's daughter.

"What's her name?" Peyton asked.

"Charity Scott, oh and her mom said that you guys were friends in high school and that you should come by some time." Lauren said brightly, not realizing she had just spoken the words her mother feared most.

Peyton fought to keep her voice steady.

"You spoke to Brooke?" She asked.

"Yeah, I guess, I didn't catch her name. She knew Karen though." Lauren added.

Peyton's eyes widened in disbelief. She was fighting to breathe normally and not hyperventilate. She absolutely couldn't believe that Brooke had seen her daughter and somehow managed to find a connection to Lucas.

"Uh, I'm gonna go out for a little bit. Go ahead and get your homework done. I'll bring something home for dinner." Peyton told Lauren as she bolted out the door. She and Jake had spoken at length about what they would do if this very thing were ever to happen. She had never planned to take him up on it but now she needed to know if he was still willing.

She made the drive quickly. She could get there in her sleep if she had to. She breathed a sigh of relief to see Jake's car in the driveway and Jenny's gone. This was not a conversation she wanted to have in front of his 17 year old daughter.

Peyton parked her car and headed inside. She had never been so nervous about speaking with Jake. That was part of their charm. They could say any and everything to each other.

"Hey Peyton. I didn't know you were coming over today. Where's Lauren?" Jake asked as he held the door open for her.

"We need to talk. Lauren spoke with Brooke today. Their daughter is Lauren's co-captain. Lucas is going to meet her. I can't stop it." Peyton ranted as she paced the floor in Jake's living room.

"I need to know if your offer still stands. And if you've really thought about the repercussions of it. With Jenny and Lauren." Peyton asked her eyes filling with tears. She hated that she had to ask so much of him. Granted, it had been his idea, but that was years ago.

Jake took a deep breathe and reached out to take her hands in his.

He nodded slowly before answering her questions.

"Yes Peyton. If I hadn't meant it, I never would have said it. And again, yes. I have thought about what would happen if we did it. Jenny would probably be ecstatic. Lauren might be upset that she wasn't told sooner but I'm sure she'd come around and you know I love that kid right?" Jake said with a smile.

"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you or her. This included." Jake finished pulling her to him.

Peyton collapsed into his shoulder, the tears that had been threatening to fall all afternoon finally did. When she could cry no more she wiped her eyes and pulled away to look at him. She knew he'd been wanting to ask her something for quite some time and suddenly none of the reasons she had for saying no mattered.

"Well, since we are going to tell Lauren that you're her father, why don't we make it official. Jake, will you marry me?"


	5. The secrets we can't keep

-1**A/N: Thank you so much for all the positive feedback! It really keeps me motivated. And for those of you who are reading my other OTH story, not to worry, I've working on the next few chapters of it as well. **

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Peyton's mind was reeling as she left Jake's. Could she really lie to her daughter about something as important as this? She sighed as she flipped open her cell phone. She needed to talk to Karen and Lauren was starving so Peyton told her to be ready when she pulled up and they would go to the café.

When they finally arrived Lauren jumped out of the car and ran inside. Peyton followed her slowly. When Peyton finally snapped out of daze she saw Lauren already sitting at the counter talking to Karen and another customer.

"Hey Karen." Peyton said, greeting the woman.

The man that was sitting next to Lauren turned around to see who had spoken. 16 years of hurt shone in his eyes as he looked at her.

Lucas.

Peyton felt like she was going to be sick. What was she supposed to say? "Oh hi Lucas, did you know you were sitting next to your daughter?" Yeah, like that would happen.

"Um, hi Luke. So, uh glad to be back?" She asked brightly. She knew she sounded fake when Lauren spun around and looked at her as if she had three heads.

Luke, this is Lauren, Peyton's daughter. Lauren, this is my son, Lucas." Karen said making the introductions in hopes of cutting some of the tension.

Lucas turned to face Lauren and shook the hand she extended.

"Nice to meet you." Lucas said politely.

"How old are you?" He asked, his head swinging to look at Peyton who couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'll be 16 in December." Lauren said with a smile.

Lucas nodded. It was evident he was trying to do the math in his head.

"C'mon Lauren come back to the kitchen and get you something to eat. And you still haven't told me if you made captain." Karen said herding the girl towards the back.

"And I think you need to talk to my son." Karen said pointedly at Peyton.

Peyton sighed and took the seat beside Lucas that Lauren had been in.

"Is she mine or did you cheat on me?" Lucas asked her point blank when Lauren and Karen were out of earshot.

Peyton turned to meet his gaze. He was giving her an out. All she had to do was say that she had cheated on him with Jake and she was home free. She could marry Jake and the four of them could finally be happy.

"She's yours." Peyton said softly. She had realized after speaking to Jake that she couldn't lie to Lauren. It wasn't fair to her. And she hadn't been fair to Lucas. She only hoped he would understand why she had lied and not try to take Lauren as some twisted way to punish Peyton.

Lucas kept opening his mouth as if to speak and then closing it again. Finally he closed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands.

"Why?" He asked weakly, still cradling his head.

Peyton spun her chair around to face the doors. She couldn't look at him. He was hurting and she had caused it and she couldn't face it.

"I loved you too much. I found out I was pregnant in March, right after you had accepted your scholarship to UNC. You were so happy Lucas. I knew you would have stayed and helped me with Lauren and I couldn't do that to you. I wanted more for you. I actually wanted to tell you when you came home that summer but you were married to Brooke and expecting Charity and Karen said you were happy. I didn't want to ruin that for you." Peyton said with tears running down her cheeks.

"I can't do this right now. Not here. I'll uh, I'll call you." Lucas said grabbing his jacket and walking straight out the door.

Karen had been watching the scene transpire from the doorway.

"I'm proud of you Peyton. I know it was hard but he deserved to know and so does Lauren." She said carefully.

"Jake and I are getting married. I, well we, had planned to tell her that she was his. I just couldn't lie to him again though. I should have, he hates me now." Peyton said bitterly.

"I'm Jakes daughter?" Lauren said incredulously having heard Peyton's words.

"No, you're Lucas's." Peyton said. This was not exactly how she had pictured telling Lauren about her father.

"So you were going to lie to me?" Lauren asked angrily. She grabbed her jacket off the chair and started to walk out the door.

"Lauren, wait!" Peyton commanded as her daughter pushed open the doors and walked on without looking back.


	6. Daddy dearest

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Lucas drove aimlessly around town. It was stange, but he had felt relieved when Peyton had said he was Lauren's father. At least that meant that Brooke had been wrong for all these years. Peyton hadn't cheated on him.

He sighed wondering why that even still mattered to him. That was a lifetime ago. His daughter's lifetime. Lucas was furious with Peyton for not telling him. Yes he was happy with Brooke and Charity. Well happy with Charity. But he could have been happy with Peyton. He had been happy with Peyton. Until she crushed him. The pain he felt on that day would stay with him always.

_"We need to talk." Peyton had said. Luke knew she was nervous. She was twirling a stray curl around her finger. _

_He sat down on his bed beside her. _

_"What is it?" He asked, his voice full of concern. _

_"I don't want to be with you anymore. I don't love you. In fact, I'm not sure I really ever did. Maybe it was just fun because it was forbidden." Peyton said without emotion. _

_At first Lucas thought she was kidding, but the longer they sat in silence the more he realized she was serious. _

_"What the hell? Where did this come from? I know you love me Peyton, I see it in your eyes every day. Why are you doing this?" He had cried out as he jumped up from the bed. He was pacing the length of his room in about two strides. He felt like punching the wall. _

_"I'm sorry Lucas. it's the truth. I've known for awhile now. I just didn't know how to tell you." She finished coldly. _

_"Get out. Just get out of my house. I don't even want to look at you!" He had screamed. _

She had calmly walked out of the room and out of his life. He had ran straight into Brooke's arms. Brooke wound up pregnant and while they were in Raleigh he had asked her to marry him.

"If only I had known the truth Peyton." He muttered under his breath.

When he pulled up at the River court he saw that someone else had beaten him to his favorite thinking spot.

"Lauren." He said in greeting as he plopped down beside her on the picnic table. She wiped her eyes and took a long look at Lucas before speaking.

"She didn't tell you either?" Lauren asked flatly. Luke shook his head no. For a long time they both just sat, watching the river flow, each lost in thought. Finally Luke glanced at his watch. He was sure Brooke was furious by now. He'd left his phone at the café. He was sure she'd left more than a few messages.

"C'mon, I'll give you a ride home. I bet your mom is getting worried." He offered Lauren as he held his hand out to help her down. Lauren hopped down, shaking her head.

"I'm not going back there right now, but you could take me to Jenny's." Lauren said as the walked to Lucas's car. Luke started to shake his head no when Lauren stopped walking. Luke turned to her.

"Look, I know this just got sprung on you too. I'm sure you didn't wake up this morning and plan to have a daughter dumped in your lap. I've never had a dad and I'm cool with it. Don't feel like you have to be all parental on my account." Lauren said.

"I'm not saying this to be brave or to protect myself from heartbreak. I'm just saying it because its true. I'm glad to know who my father is. I'm really happy that Karen is my grandma, but Jake is my dad. He's been the only dad I've ever known and he's great. So don't feel like you have to step up because you feel sorry for me. I'm good." She added, looking him in the eyes.

Luke could admit that he was intimidated by Lauren, right? Frankly, she scared the hell out of him. Here she was a mini-Peyton and he didn't know how to respond. She was so mature and self-confident. Charity was the total opposite. She was very much a daddy's girl and he could only imagine how crushed she would be if in Lauren's situation and thought she was going to be rejected by her father.

He felt awkward but he pulled her in for a hug anyway. He felt her stiffen and was sure he'd made the wrong move when she finally wrapped her arms around him. He felt her start to sob. They stood there for what felt like hours before she finally let go and pulled back.

"I'm sorry. I feel so stupid for crying. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything." She said wiping her tears.

"I'm used to it. I have a daughter, another daughter actually, about your age. Look, I want to be a part of your life now Lauren. I would have been from day one if your mom had told me. I loved your mother very much. I would have given up everything for you and her and she obviously knew that. So instead she gave up everything for me. Your mom really is amazing Lauren. Don't be too hard on her." Luke said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked her to his car.

"Still want to go to Jenny's?" He asked.

"Yeah, besides her dad is mom's boyfriend, he'll call and let her know I'm okay." Lauren replied.

"Jake you said? Last name wouldn't be Jagelski would it?" Lucas asked in amusement. Looked like he would get to see two old friends today.


	7. Friends are forever

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lauren sat in silence as Lucas drove her to Jake's house. Lucas couldn't really blame her. They were strangers, it wasn't as if she could just tell him about her day. Thankfully the drive was short and Lauren gave good directions. Soon they were pulling up in front of Jake's house.

"I'll walk you up." Lucas said as they exited the car. As Lauren neared the door it was thrown open and Peyton rushed to meet her daughter.

"Lauren, baby, I'm so sorry." Peyton cried as she hugged her daughter.

"I'm fine mom. We'll talk later." Lauren said as she wrangled herself out of her mother's arms. She turned and smiled at Lucas and waved before heading inside with Jenny.

"Thank you for getting her home safely Lucas." Peyton said with a smile.

"No problem. Any father would do that." Lucas said coldly as he started to turn back to the car. The pain was still too fresh. He couldn't talk to her yet, if he did he would definitely say something he would surely regret.

"I deserved that but would you please just hear me out?" Peyton pleaded. Lucas simply nodded.

"I wanted to tell you Lucas. I did. It was just that I knew how much you wanted to play basketball at North Carolina. You had worked so hard for it. You deserved it. I couldn't be the one to take that from you. It would have broken my heart. I was worried that if I did tell you that you would stay out of obligation and I didn't want that. I wanted to know that I meant more to you than just an obligation. So I let you go. I gave you a chance at happiness. Why can't you see that? I didn't do it to hurt you." Peyton sounded so sincere. Lucas wanted to just walk away. He couldn't even think of a civil response.

"Luke?" Peyton asked quietly as he just stood there staring at her.

"What do you want me say Peyton? Huh? Thanks for keeping what could have been the most precious thing in my life away from me? Thanks for not letting me make my own decisions? Thanks for deciding that I would be happier playing basketball than loving you for the rest of my life? I loved you Peyton! I never would have regretted Lauren! Never! How dare you sit here and say that you didn't mean to hurt me! I can't talk to you anymore Peyton. Not right now." Lucas said, walking her off.

He squealed his tires as he sped off. He couldn't even slow his thoughts down enough to process what had just happened. He headed towards Nathan's house. The only coherent thought he had was telling him that he couldn't go home right now. He was in no mood to explain all this to Brooke and deal with her pettiness.

Before long he was pulling up in front of Nathan and Haley's house. Nathan had been drafted into the NBA after college. Haley stayed in Tree Hill while he traveled. They had two year old twins named Seth and Emma. Lucas wished he had been able to see them more often.

Haley answered the door holding Emma. Lucas could hear Seth singing in the other room.

"Hey Luke, its bath time, give me 15 minutes or so and these munchkins will be down for the night. You can hang out in the living room, get something to eat, whatever." Haley said breathlessly as she darted back down the hall. Lucas had to chuckle at her. She was the person most suited for motherhood that he knew. She made it look effortless, even with twins.

He grabbed a soda out of the fridge and plopped down on the couch. There was a game on the television. Lakers vs. Pistons. Lucas hoped Nathan was kicking some Piston's butt. He got so into the game that he didn't hear Haley come back into the room.

"Nate winning?" She asked as she sank down beside him.

"Yep, 2 minutes to go and they're up by 15." Luke told her.

"So what's up? You look like crap by the way." Haley told him. Lucas smiled. He loved how she could be so honest with him even when she hadn't seen him in so long.

"Did you know that Peyton and I have a daughter?" Luke asked. He had assumed she didn't or else he would have known. Judging by her reaction he was right. Haley stood up and looked at him as if he had just told her the moon was made of cheese.

"What?! I knew she had a daughter. I mean I've never met her but she's told me about her. She never mentioned a father and I didn't ask, I mean its not my business who she sleeps with. How could she not tell you?" Haley exclaimed. Lucas shrugged.

"Beats me. She says she didn't tell me because she knew how excited I was about playing ball at UNC. As if I would have cared about that knowing I was having a baby with the love of my life? I just can't deal with her right now. And I can't go home and deal with Brooke either. She'll have a field day with this." Lucas sighed tiredly. He was mentally exhausted.

"Crash here. We have plenty of space. Stay as long as you like. You know we're always here for you Luke." Haley said with a smile.

"Thanks. I was hoping you'd say that." He said, grinning.

"Please, as if I could turn away an extra pair of hands." Haley laughed. Lucas groaned good naturedly. Leave it to Haley to put him to work while he was here.


	8. A small helping of truth

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Brooke was furious. She had spent all evening working on a romantic dinner for her and Lucas. She rarely cooked for him and she wanted to show him that she was trying. Charity had even helped her make dessert. At six she was glad he wasn't home yet. At seven she was getting irritated. It was now nine and she was heading past furious into the land of unbound rage. She had left numerous messages on his cell phone, spoke to Karen, who only said he had left hours ago, left a message with Haley to have him call if she saw him. She had no clue where he could be. She was about to go out and look for him when Charity brought her the phone.

"Brooke? I know you're upset. I'm at Haley's, we're gonna hang out tonight. I'll uh, talk to you tomorrow. I love you." Lucas said quickly and then hung up. Brooke hung up and promptly threw the phone across the room. She was seething. Lucas had never not come home. And he sure as hell had never called and given a lame excuse and hung up before she could reply. Brooke was having to force herself to breath slowly. She realized Charity was still watching her.

"Dad's not coming home tonight is he?" Charity asked dully. How could Lucas do this to her. Leave her here with a daughter who couldn't care less if she were even present.

"No. He's at Haley's." Brooke replied through nearly clenched teeth. Charity just nodded and headed up to her room.

Brooke grabbed a pillow off the couch to muffle her scream of frustration. When did her life get so out of control? This was definitely not how she pictured her life, or her marriage for that matter. She had been so happy when Lucas proposed. Granted, she had just told him she was pregnant, but he really seemed happy about the baby and about getting married. She hadn't felt like he was doing it because he had to. Now, most days she felt like they stayed together because of Charity and because it was safe and easy. Brooke still loved him and was still in love with him but it was different. It wasn't the dazzling, sweep her off of her feet love that she had thought it would always be.

Brooke wondered aimlessly around the house as she thought. She ended up outside of Charity's door. She could hear what sounded like muffled sobs.

"Charity?" She asked opening the door slowly.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you." Charity sniffled. She was laying face down across her bed. Brooke remembered throwing herself across her bed that very way when she was younger.

"You might not want to talk to me but I would love to talk to you." Brooke said kindly as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why?" Charity asked coldly, sitting up to look at Brooke.

"Why? Because I could use someone to talk to." Brooke began before she cut off by Charity.

"Oh right. It's always about you isn't it mother? Who cares about me and dad? As long as you're happy right? What about me, huh? What about when I was in the hospital and you were too busy in London to come home and see if I was even still alive?" Charity screamed.

Brooke felt as if she had been slapped across the face. Charity thought that she was too _busy_?

"Oh no. No, you think I was just having a good old time in London don't you? How about your dad didn't even call me! I didn't know Charity! Not until I got home and Lucas finally told me. You can hate me all you want for everything else but not for that. It wasn't my fault." Brooke finished evenly.

Charity eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Dad didn't call you? I mean I didn't ask him to, I just assumed he would. Then you never showed up so I just assumed you had better things to do." Charity said with a note of apology in her voice.

"I know I haven't been the best mother, Charity. I guess I'm following the only example I was ever shown. My parents thought as long as I had a big house, fancy car and all the credit cards I could want that I was taken care of. I don't know how to be a real mother. Your dad had a wonderful mother, so I just kind of left you to him. That was the best I could do for you and I know it sucked. I'm sorry." Brooke apologized as tears started to run down her cheeks. She desperately wished she could go back in time and do things differently. Only she didn't know if given the chance, if she would start over with Lucas or not.


	9. When it all falls down

-1**A/N: I just wanted to say another quick thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this story. I really love reading what you guys have to say! Keep them coming! **

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lucas couldn't sleep. He had been tossing and turning for hours. He was mad at himself for calling Brooke the way he had. He just couldn't deal with her and the fallout from this right now. He knew he would have to tell her sooner or later but right now later was sounding good. Finally Lucas admitted to himself that he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. He got up and put his clothes back on. Quietly he made his way out of the house. Starting his car he decided to head home. He figured Brooke would be asleep and he could just slip in and get some rest.

His hopes of a quiet return were dashed when he saw lights on in his house. Sighing he tried to figure out what he was going to say to Brooke. When nothing immediately came to mind he decided to just wing it. He was greeted by the sight of Brooke sitting on the couch surrounded by her luggage.

"Brooke, what?" He started, gesturing at the suitcases sitting at her feet.

"I've got a show to do in Paris. I wasn't going to go but after tonight I've changed my mind. I'm waiting for the taxi now." She said to him without emotion. He could see that she had been crying at some point. Lucas rubbed his forehead. He should have known. Whenever things got the tiniest bit difficult she ran. Well, she'd have a lot to think about on her trip after he told her about Lauren.

"Fine. We need to talk first though." Lucas conceded. Brooke started to shake her head no, when he continued.

"You may not have anything to say to me but I have to tell you something. I know you're mad as hell right now. I know I messed up by not coming home but I've been dealing with a lot tonight. I saw Peyton at the café and.." He trailed off. Brooke's expression had gone from indifference to a death stare at Peyton's name. He knew she was assuming the worst.

"It's nothing like that Brooke. I saw her at the café with her daughter, Lauren. Peyton told me, uh, she told me that Lauren is my daughter." Lucas finally managed to say.

Just then he heard faint honking and realized that Brooke's taxi was outside. Brooke heard it too and started to gather her things and leave. He followed her out waiting for her to give him some sort of reply.

"Brooke!" He yelled as she kept walking. Suddenly she whirled around.

"And you just had to believe her didn't you Lucas? Never once did you question it? You know I've always thought that Peyton and Jake were together behind your back and you just assume the kid is yours because she says so? How damn foolish can you be Lucas?" Brooke screamed. She was right. The thought had never crossed Lucas's mind. He knew that Peyton wouldn't lie to him about this. Keep it from him, yes, but outright lie? Never, not to him.

"I know she's telling the truth Brooke, I've seen Lauren. She looks exactly like me." Lucas said, defending Peyton.

"I've seen her too and she looks like Peyton." Brooke said angrily as she threw her suitcases in the trunk of the cab.

"Brooke, you have to stay. We have to talk about this." Lucas ordered her angrily.

"The hell I do. I'll be back in two weeks. You deal with this Lucas." Brooke said, her implications clear. Lucas just stared as she got into cab and told the cab driver to take her to the airport.

Lucas watched her drive away with feeling of dread rising in the pit of his stomach. Brooke was furious with him. He was sure Charity probably wasn't happy with him either. She hated when there was discord amongst them.

Lucas made his way into the house. He needed to sleep. To forget that this night existed for at least a little while. He was tempted to stop when he heard Charity's alarm going off but exhaustion was finally catching up to him. He fell into bed and was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

He was rudely awakened by the sound of the phone ringing. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was well after noon. He lay in bed listening to the ringing. He had no desire to talk to anyone just then. He heard the machine pick up in the living room. He heard Brooke's bubbly voice stating that the caller had reached the Scott's house followed by instructions to leave a message. After the beep he heard a very different sounding Brooke tell them that she had made it to Paris safely and that she would call when she had more time. She sounded hollow and Lucas wasn't sure if it were her or the fact that she was calling from another continent.

Luke sighed and decided that he might as well get up for the day. Charity would be home soon and he had a lot to explain to her. He wondered if she had met Lauren. He vaguely remembered someone mentioning something about a captain's spot but he had no idea what sport she played. He heard Charity coming in the front door and he hurried down to meet her.

"Hey sweetie." He greeted her with a smile. She looked as tired as he felt.

"How was practice?" He asked.

"Hey dad. It was good, hard, but good. This squad, well _my_ squad I guess, is really good. Especially Lauren, my co-captain." Charity said.

Lucas let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"What's Lauren's last name?" He asked.

"Sawyer, I guess mom was friends with her mom, Peyton I think she said." Charity explained.

"Yeah, I know. Uh, listen, there's something I need to tell you and it involves Lauren and Peyton actually." He began, sitting down on the couch and patting a spot beside him for Charity.

Charity gave him a confused look and sat down. Lucas sat for a few minutes trying to collect his thoughts. This was looking to be a lot harder than he thought.


	10. Sins of the fathers

**AN: Sorry its another short one. We are getting bad storms and I wanted to post another chapter for you guys, but I had to hurry. I promise a more lengthy one coming up!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lucas took a deep breath before continuing.

"When I was your age I fell in love. I fell in love with Peyton Sawyer. We had a rocky start. It seemed like we just couldn't connect at the same time. Eventually I started dating your mother. I loved her but in a moment of weakness I cheated on her with Peyton. It was bad for awhile, we were all fighting and I realized that we all just needed some time. During that time I realized how much I loved your mother. I told her that right before she went home to your grandparents the summer before our senior year. She uh, well she didn't leave me any hope of us getting back together. When she got back she wanted to date but not seriously. We slowly drifted apart and Peyton and I ended up together." Lucas paused to gauge Charity's reaction. She motioned for him to continue.

"We were very happy. I'd been in love with her for years. Then out of the blue she dumped me. Told me that she had never felt anything for me. I was crushed. I felt foolish for throwing things away with your mother for nothing. Luckily for me Brooke took me back and we got pregnant with you. We got married and the rest is history, so they say. Except that what I didn't know was that Peyton was pregnant too. Lauren is my daughter. She's your half-sister." Lucas finished so softly it was nearly impossible to hear him.

As her dad had said those last words Charity felt the anger bubbling up inside of her. Charity didn't do well with change and right now her world was spinning.

"So that's why mom is gone? Because she found out you can't keep it in your pants?" She spat angrily. The words coming out of her mouth shocked her as much as her dad. She had never spoken to him like that. That tone was always reserved for her mother.

"I'm leaving. We have a game tonight." She said as she walked out of the house. She didn't really have anywhere to go and the game wasn't for a few hours so she decided to go to her grandma's café. The walk was pretty long from her house but she needed the time to process.

An angry Charity was a force to be reckoned with and she was about as angry as she had ever been. Why did her dad have to find out about Lauren now, after all these years. Now, when her mom had promised to stay home more, now that she finally felt some small bit of control over her life. She was scared that they would lose him. That he would decide that having a spoiled daughter and a rotten wife didn't compare to his long lost daughter and high school sweetheart.

The kicker was that she actually liked Lauren and her friend Jenny. She had never really had female friends before. At her old school most of the girls were too jealous of her to be friendly. It was as if fate were toying with her. Giving her everything she had wanted and then taking it away. She could hardly contain her frustration. She wanted to hit something, preferably Lauren's pretty little nose.

Just then she realized she was about to walk past the café. Turning back she glanced in the window and saw _her_. Sitting in a booth with her mother and _Charity's_ grandmother. It was all Charity could do to stop herself from going in there and dragging the wench out by her hair.

Charity was shocked by her reaction to Lauren. It really wasn't her fault that her mother was a whore and probably didn't know who her real father was and just happened to blame her on Charity's dad. She was jealous, plain and simple. She didn't want to share her father with someone else. Her dad would want Lauren to be a part of the family, she knew that much. Suddenly an evil smile crept onto Charity's face. What if she could make Lauren wish she had never met Lucas? Charity was sure she could make her life so miserable that she wouldn't want to come within ten feet of anyone named Scott.

She felt someone walk up behind her. Turning she saw a girl from the squad.

"Lila right?" Charity asked the girl.

"Yep. Lila Mason. Ugh, I cannot stand that girl. She thinks she's so pretty and so popular." Lila said cattily, motioning through the glass at Lauren.

"Really? Does anyone else feel that way?" Charity said chuckling. This was just too good to be true.

"Is the sky blue?" Lila asked sarcastically. Charity could hardly believe her good fortune. Smiling at the pretty blonde she linked her arm through Lila's.

"I think we're going to get along fabulously." Charity smirked.


	11. Fear is the mindkiller

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton felt at peace. More at peace than she had felt in years. Finally telling Lucas and Lauren the truth was freeing. Granted, Lauren currently wasn't speaking to anyone but Jenny, and she was sure that Lucas would never speak to her again and Brooke probably wanted to do numerous painful things to her. Peyton's shoulders slumped. The peace she had been feeling was gone. Even listening to Karen chatter on excitedly about something didn't raise her spirits.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you I'm not coming home after the game. Logan Adams is having a party and everyone's going." Lauren said evenly, staring at Peyton as if she was daring her to say no.

"Fine. Jake and I have a date tonight anyway." Peyton said with a smile. Thinking about Jake and their somewhat unconventional engagement still managed to bring a smile. They were going to start discussing wedding plans tonight.

She vaguely heard Lauren saying goodbye and gathering her stuff to leave. Peyton however was paying more attention to Lucas who had just walked in looking worried.

"Hey Mom, have you seen Charity?" He asked Karen as he nervously raked a hand through his hair.

"No, not today, why? Is something wrong?" Karen asked quickly.

"She ran out earlier, she was upset, I was hoping she'd come here." He said.

"This is all your fault." He said finally turning to acknowledge Peyton.

"My fault?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, your fault. If I hadn't had to explain about Lauren then Brooke would still be in the country and Charity wouldn't be god knows where, doing god knows what!" Lucas said angrily. Peyton couldn't believe what she was hearing. He really was blaming this all on her!

"Right because I magically got pregnant with your daughter. You obviously had no part in it." Peyton said sarcastically.

"Oh I'm surprised you don't claim that you conceived her all on your own, seeing how you didn't think she needed a father." Lucas replied just as sarcastically.

"Enough you two. I'll go to the gym and see if she's there. There's a game tonight, remember?" Karen said, leaving them alone.

Peyton watched warily as Lucas joined her in the booth.

"I'm sorry." They both started at the same time. Peyton laughed.

"I'm sorry Luke. I don't want to fight with you. I'm sorry about Brooke and Charity too." She said giving him a smile.

"Me too. I really want us to work this out. For Lauren's sake. I really would like to spend some time with her. Maybe we could work out some sort of custody agreement." Lucas said hopefully.

Peyton drew back as if she'd been slapped. Her mind raced with fear. Custody? No, Lucas couldn't want to take Lauren.

"No, absolutely not. She's my daughter Lucas." Peyton said adamantly.

"Peyton, she's my daughter too." Lucas said sounding confused.

"I don't care. I never should have told you." Peyton said shaking her head. She couldn't make herself believe this was really happening.

"Peyton you're being ridiculous. Please, don't make this harder than it is. We can just work something out between us." Lucas reasoned.

She continued to shake her head no. There would be no changing her mind on this.

"Don't make me have to get a lawyer to see my daughter. If she really is my daughter." Lucas said snidely.

"What?" Peyton all but yelled.

"How do I know you weren't sleeping around behind my back. Hell, who knows if you even know for sure that I'm her father." He said coldly.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was starting to sound a lot more like Dan than himself.

"Alright _Dan _lets not get too condescending." She replied rudely.

"Hey Dan might not have claimed me, but at least he knew for sure I was his." Lucas said icily as he walked out on her.

Peyton fought to keep the tears from falling. She couldn't believe he had sunken so low as to use cheap shots against her. She had only wanted Lucas and Lauren to know the truth and now she stood to lose almost everything.


	12. Dumb blondes and broken hearts

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lauren loved game nights. Something about the excitement that ran though the crowd like electricity always made her feel more alive. She kept glancing at the doors, hoping Lucas would walk through. Her mom and Jake seldom came to the games. Jenny had told Jake that she was too self-conscious when he was there, so he stopped coming and in turn so did her mother. Most of the time it didn't bother her but sometimes she wished her mom would be there, sitting in the bleachers, supporting her. She spotted Karen standing in the doorway on her cell phone and she waved.

"Hey Blondie, why don't you tell your whore of mother to pawn you off on some other random stranger." Lauren whirled around, shocked at the words she was hearing.

Charity stood there smirking. Why did the new girl care who her father was? Realization dawned on Lauren. Charity Scott. Lucas Scott's daughter. Her sister. Before Lauren could respond the lights dimmed for the team announcements. Lauren hurried to her spot between Jenny and Charity and started cheering.

Before she knew it the game was over. The Ravens were victorious as usual. Luckily for Charity she was gone before Lauren made her way to the locker room.

"So what was going on between you and Charity tonight? Jenny asked her as they started to change for the party.

"Apparently I'm encroaching on her daddy issues." Lauren smiled. Jenny, who was trying to coax curls out of her wavy hair in vain, stopped and stared.

"You mean she's your sister?" Jenny said in amusement. Lauren smiled and nodded.

"Wow, well look on the bright side, she's new, how much damage can she cause? Hey, is Tyler coming tonight?" Jenny asked getting the conversation headed in a new direction.

Lauren smiled at the mention of Tyler Bennett's name. He was the quintessential basketball captain. He was tall, blonde, and hot. Lauren had been crushing on him for years and she had just found out that he had dumped his long-time girlfriend, Lila Mason.

"Yeah, he's who invited me actually." Lauren sighed.

"C'mon Juliet, lets get you to your Romeo before I lose my lunch." Jenny laughed, dragging Lauren out to the car.

Neither girl had noticed Lila on the other side of the locker room.

"Jenny!" Lauren and Jenny had just arrived and already people were calling for them. Lauren smiled and waved as Jen went to join some of her friends. Lauren spotted Tyler standing in the middle of a big group and she made her way over.

"Hey." She said as she greeted him.

"Hey Lauren, want a drink?" He asked as he handed her his beer.

"Thanks." She smiled, as someone else started talking to her. She danced, drank and mingled and lost track of Tyler. She had finally reached the point in between being buzzed and completely wasted and figured now would be a good time to let him know she was into him. She asked quite a few people if they had seen him, no one had. She had just about given up and decided he'd left when Kyle told her he had just seen him outside. She murmured her thanks and headed out the door.

There he was alright, wrapped around Charity in a kiss that Lauren would have rated R, bordering on X. Lauren felt the tears building up in her eyes. Just then Lila came up and put her arm around Lauren.

"They make a cute couple don't they, not as cute as he and I, but whatever. Aww, are you crying? Ohh did big, bad, Lauren Sawyer get her itty, bitty, heart broken?" Lila asked loudly. Lauren furiously wiped away her tears and spun around to face Lila.

"Wow, for a dumb blonde you catch on quick." Lauren said angrily. Lauren scanned the gathering crowd for Jenny but didn't see her.

"Aw, is Lila giving you a hard time? That's too bad, it should be me." Charity said snidely as she stepped between the two girls with Tyler in tow.

"After all, I am the one with "daddy issues" aren't I?" Charity laughed. Lauren realized either she or Lila had overheard her and Jenny in the locker room. That meant Charity had just been using Tyler. Lauren felt her cheeks color in embarrassment at having been caught in Charity's web. Lauren glanced at Tyler who apparently thought his shoes were the coolest thing in the world just then. With fresh tears threatening to spill, Lauren pushed through the crowd, looking for Jenny. She found her kissing some random guy and told her it was time to go. Jenny glanced at her curiously but grabbed her keys. Lauren made a mental note to thank Jenny later.


	13. From Paris with love

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton was still feeling shaky from her encounter with Lucas when Jake arrived.

"Hey Peyt, what's wrong?" Jake asked, noticing her fragile state. Peyton felt her eyes well up with tears. She didn't think she had the strength to tell him.

"Lucas wants some sort of custody arrangement with Lauren." She finally got out between sobs.

"Okay, that sounds fair, what's the problem?" Jake asked. How could Peyton explain to him that her worst fears were coming true?

"She's my daughter Jake! I raised her!" Peyton cried.

"Peyton, I'm sure he only wants every other weekend or something, its not the end of the world." Jake said with confusion. Peyton knew she was sounding paranoid but she couldn't help it.

"He's not Nikki and he's not Dan, Peyton. Lauren will be safe with him." He added softly. He looked so concerned for her. It was driving her crazy. She shook her head to clear it.

"You didn't hear him Jake. He sounded like Dan. He was mean and cold and I didn't know him." Peyton said, feeling a cold chill run up her spine at the memory.

"Hey, come here, it'll be okay. He was probably just frustrated. It's a tough situation for everybody. Give him some time to cool down." Jake said soothingly. Peyton curled up in his arms and felt safe.

"So, I was thinking about a spring wedding. I know its cliché and all, but its probably the soonest we could be ready." Jake said with a smile.

Peyton was torn. One part of her was saying YES! She wanted to marry Jake and tomorrow felt like too long to wait. However, another part of her thought they were rushing things a bit. That sounded silly to her since they had been together for years, not counting when they were kids.

"That sounds great. I'll call the church tomorrow and get a date booked." She said with a small smile.

They spent the rest of the evening hashing out details. Finally Peyton realized it was getting late and Lauren still hadn't come home.

"What time did Jenny say she'd be home?" Peyton asked Jake.

"She said she wouldn't be super late, probably 1am or so." He replied, glancing at his watch. It read 1:47am.

"Maybe she crashed at my house." Jake said. Peyton went to the phone to call.

"Hey, I'll just head home and check it out. I'll give you a call." Jake offered. Peyton nodded. She was fiddling with her hands. She couldn't sit still. She began pacing and alternating between watching the clock and the door.

Finally after the minutes began feeling like hours, the phone rang.

"Please God let her by safe,." Peyton prayed before answering.

"Hello?" Peyton answered.

"Its me, she's here, they're asleep. I'll uh, have her call you in the morning." Jake offered.

"Nah, its okay, just tell her to come straight home after practice tomorrow." Peyton said. Hanging up she felt all the tension drain out of her.

Lauren was usually so responsible. Peyton didn't know how to deal with this new, rebellious Lauren. Then again, she and Lauren had never really fought before. The got along better than most teenagers and their mothers. At least Peyton thought so. Maybe that was why she was so afraid of Lucas wanting to spend time with Lauren. Maybe she was scared of the influence Brooke could have over her daughter. What if Brooke tried to punish Peyton by mistreating Lauren or worse tryed to be "fun". Peyton had too many memories of the "fun Brooke" and she didn't want her daughter exposed to that.

Knowing she was too wound to sleep she decided to go for a drive. She drove down by the River court, over near the high school, past Jake's house and finally ended up on Lucas's street. She saw the lights on in his house and decided to stop.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, seeing Peyton standing at his door. Peyton wasn't entirely sure why she had stopped, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

"I'm sorry, come in. Brooke's in Paris, Charity's still out and I'm an insomniac." Lucas joked, holding the door open for her. Peyton smiled and walked in. She could immediately see Brooke's taste in the decorations.

Once they were settled in the living room, Lucas asked once again,

"So, what's wrong?"

Peyton bit her lip. She had just wanted to see him, she didn't really have anything to say to him.

"Jake and I are getting married." She blurted out. Why did she tell him that? Part of her was hoping he'd react with jealousy. She was horrified at that thought, as if he would care anyway.

"Wow, Congratulations. I didn't know you guys were that serious." Lucas said slowly.

"Well, we weren't." Peyton admitted.

"Jake wants to though, and I love him, so we're getting married this spring." She finished with a smile.

"So you didn't want to get married?" Lucas asked. Was it Peyton's imagination or was there a brief flicker of hope in his eyes?

Standing in the doorway, Brooke watched the scene unfolding between the two of them.

"Well, well, well, good thing I came home early. Who knows how many more children you would have had, had I stayed the full two weeks." Brooke said, her silky voice sounding dangerously calm.


	14. Harsh reality

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Brooke was scaring herself. She had always been the more "in your face" type when she was angry. This quiet anger was so much more intense. She was shaking she was so angry.

"I think its time for you to leave Peyton." She said as she stepped into the room. Peyton shot a quick glance at Lucas, who nodded, before high-tailing it out of their house.

"Wow Lucas, I'm gone for 24 hours and you already have Peyton in my house. Did you have her in my bed as well?" Brooke seethed. She absolutely couldn't imagine the gall he had, after telling her that he and Peyton had a child together, to have her in Brooke's house.

"And to think I came home because I felt like I owed you an apology for MY behavior." Brooke continued.

"Just stop, Brooke. We were talking, you saw us, nothing more. You don't get to dictate who my friends are." Lucas interrupted loudly. Brooke just shook her head with a cold smile.

"I do when your "friend" is a two-bit whore." Brooke smirked. Lucas's eyes widened at Brooke's statement. She could almost feel his anger rising.

"Just who do you think you are--" Lucas started

"Your WIFE, although for how much longer is debatable." Brooke answered. Lucas stood there speechless. Brooke was sure the thought of her leaving him had never crossed his mind. Brooke stormed up the stairs and locked herself in their room.

Brooke couldn't believe that only a few hours ago she had rushed home, anxious to see Lucas, to apologize. She had berated herself the entire flight home for being so insecure and selfish. Lucas was going through a lot just then and she wanted to be there for him. Then she had seen the way he was looking at Peyton, who was sitting in Brooke's house, with Brooke's husband at two in the morning. And all the old feelings of insecurity and of not measuring up to Peyton came rushing back and she lost it. As each minute passed without Lucas coming to talk to her, she was getting more sure she had lost him as well. Finally she heard feet coming up the stairs and then a soft knock at her door.

She opened the door expecting Lucas and instead found Charity.

"Where's dad? And why are you here?" Charity asked as she came in and flopped down on the bed.

"Your dad isn't downstairs?" Brooke asked. Charity shook her head no.

"I'm home because I did my job and decided not to stay." Brooke said simply. She was slightly rattled to know that Lucas had left.

"Well I wanted to talk to dad, but I guess you'll do. I was kinda a bitch to Lauren tonight. I feel bad but I don't know, I guess I don't feel as badly as I should, all things considered." Charity said. She continued to pick at her skirt not meeting Brooke's gaze.

"I know that I only did it because I'm scared. I'm scared that dad will like her better, or spend more time with her." Charity said in a small voice.

Brooke sat beside Charity and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Brooke wished that Lucas were here. He would know what to say to Charity.

"Look, I've been in your shoes, pretty recently in fact. The best thing that we can do is apologize and hope that the people we've hurt will see that we were hurting too and accept it." Brooke said slowly. Saying what she knew she had to do was one thing, actually doing it would be a far different one.

"Thanks mom, goodnight." Charity said, hugging Brooke and going to bed. Brooke thought that sounded like a pretty good idea to her. She laid down slowly, all the while missing Lucas.

Brooke woke up to the sound of silence. She glanced at the alarm clock and saw that Charity should have already been at school. She put on her robe and went down the hall to Charity's room. She peeked in and no one was in there, so she assumed she had gotten up on time after all.

The memories of last night slowly made their way back. She went downstairs to see if Lucas was home. He wasn't. Sadly she made her way back upstairs to shower and get dressed.

Just as she finished spraying her perfume she heard the door shut. Her heart sped up and she desperately hoped it was Lucas. She hurried downstairs and saw him sitting on the couch.

"Hey." She said shyly, coming to sit beside him. When he finally looked at her she was shocked by the sadness in his eyes.

"Lucas, I want to apologize for last night and the day before. I should have just supported you and not brought my insecurities into it." Brooke said sincerely. Lucas nodded sadly.

"I uh, spent a lot of time thinking last night and I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. I can't do this anymore Brooke. You aren't around when I need you the most and if you are you just seem to make things harder." Lucas said softly. He glanced at Brooke before continuing.

"I want a divorce."


	15. Actions speak louder than words

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lauren woke up to the sound of Jenny's alarm clock going off. She had slept over so much that she knew when she launched her shoe at the alarm that she would hit the snooze button, and she did. She didn't go back to sleep though. The previous nights events kept replaying in her head. Sighing she got up and started searching through Jenny's clothes for something to wear. Jenny's style was a bit revealing for Lauren's tastes, but she finally found a skirt and a halter top that weren't _too_ bad.

Lauren showered and got ready while Jenny was still sleeping. She knew that Jenny wouldn't get up until the last possible second so Lauren slipped out of the house and started walking to school. She hadn't gone two blocks when a car slowed beside her.

"Want a ride?" Tyler asked as he rolled down the window. Lauren was not amused. She was beginning to think that fate was not on her side.

"Sure, why not." Lauren replied, rolling her eyes. It wasn't like the day was actually going to get any better once she got to school.

Tyler pushed the door open for her and she climbed in, being careful not to make eye contact.

"Hey, about last night. I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I just, well, I don't know what happened. I was looking for you and all of a sudden this girl was kissing me. I didn't even have time to react before you were there and Lila was being a bitch. Anyway, I'm sorry." Tyler said.

Lauren wasn't in the mood to play games today.

"Why does it matter Tyler? Its not like we have anything between us that you need to be sorry for. You can kiss whoever you want." She said bluntly.

"Oh yeah?" Tyler replied with a smile, leaning in to kiss her.

"Yep, you can definitely feel free to do that again." Lauren smiled. Not being one to disappoint, he did.

"And for the record, I was hoping that there could be something between us." He said shyly.

"Only if you promise to stop kissing strange girls." Lauren laughed.

Tyler held up his fingers. Lauren shook her head in confusion.

"Scouts honor." Tyler explained. Shrugging he put the car into gear and drove them to school.

When they arrived Lauren said goodbye and headed to her locker. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Charity pacing in front of it.

"Wow, starting early today aren't you. It must be so tiring to have to be a bitch so early." Lauren said in mock kindness.

"I guess you can let me know." Charity replied.

"I'm not here to be a bitch, I'm actually here to apologize. I'm sorry for last night. I was mad and scared and jealous. I know it was a lot for you to deal with, finding out who your dad was and all. Imagine finding out you were going to have to share your only real parent. Not that I'm trying to justify what I did, just letting you know where I was coming from." Charity finished, glancing at Lauren.

"I'm not ready to forgive and forget, but I'll forgive. Just stay away from my boyfriend." Lauren said threateningly. Charity clapped her hands and squealed. Lauren thought the poor girl must have lost her mind.

"See? I helped! He realized how he felt for you didn't he?" Charity asked excitedly.

"Well, come on, details!" Charity exclaimed.

Lauren got caught up in Charity's excitement and started telling her how Tyler had asked her out this morning.

"Wait a minute, why am I telling you this? We're not friends." Lauren asked, coming to her senses. Charity's face fell at her words.

"Well, I know, but we're sisters and I was kinda hoping.." Charity trailed off with a shrug.

"I said you were forgiven, but I can't just forget how you and Lila played me last night. How do I know that this isn't part of some scheme to hurt me?" Lauren asked coldly

"I apologized!" Charity exclaimed. Lauren shook her head.

"It's not that easy Charity. If you want to be my friend, don't _say _it_, do _it" Lauren told her as she slammed her locker and walked off.


	16. Complications

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Charity stood dumbfounded by Lauren's words. She had apologized for last night, why was Lauren still being so defensive? Shrugging Charity headed to her locker. She hoped her mother was having better luck with her apologies.

She had just grabbed her math book when Lila skipped up to her.

"Last night was fun huh?" Lila asked with a huge grin. Charity bit her lip. The two of them had come up with an elaborate revenge plan against Lauren last night. It started with Charity apologizing and trying to get on Lauren's good side. She and Lila had figured the betrayal they had planned would hurt worse if it came from a friend. That was before Charity had spoken to her mother. The apology she had given to Lauren was sincere, but how to explain that to Lila?

"Yeah, about that--"Charity began, but was cut off by the warning bell.

"Gotta go, talk to you at lunch?" Lila asked as she walked off in the opposite direction of Charity's class.

"Looks like." Charity replied to the space where Lila had been. Charity had math class with Tyler. She thought that would be the perfect time to apologize for her antics the night before.

"Tyler, right? I'm Charity Scott. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I was for last night." Charity said, sitting in the desk beside him. He gave her a confused look.

"I kissed you.." Charity trailed off her explanation.

"Oh, right, you're the strange girl." Tyler nodded. Charity felt herself blushing. She wasn't sure if she was embarrassed because he remembered or because she had to remind him.

"It was no big deal. You're new right?" He asked. Charity smiled and nodded.

"Well hey, a word of advice, stay away from Lila. She's my ex. I'm guessing she put you up to it, right? She's bad news." Tyler said quietly.

"That's kind of hard to do, we're on the cheerleading squad together. I'm co-captain." Charity explained.

"Oh, I didn't realize. Well I guess I'll be seeing you around a lot more then. The team and the squad party together quite a bit." Tyler told her with a big smile. Charity's smile wavered just a bit. It kind of felt like her sister's boyfriend was flirting with her. Charity had never been so impatient for a class to begin. Luckily the bell rang and class began. One very boring math lesson later, Charity was throwing her books into her bag.

"Hey, I'm having a party this Friday after the game. You should come, but do me a favor and don't bring Lila." Tyler grinned. Before Charity could respond he took off with his friends.

Charity couldn't believe her luck. Lila's plan was unfolding perfectly now that she wanted nothing to do with it. Charity's morning flew by since she was dreading lunch with Lila.

"Hey friend." Lila called to her after Charity had gotten her lunch. She sighed, she'd been hoping to escape unnoticed.

"Hey, we need to talk." Charity said, biting the bullet. She was going to have to tell her sooner or later, right?

"Did you know there's a party Friday? That would be a great time to hang out with Tyler." Lila said mischievously.

"Yeah, he invited me actually. Said to ditch you though." Charity said offhandedly. It was the perfect "out". She could just pretend that Tyler didn't want her hanging around Lila and not have to have another confrontation.

"Really?" Lila pouted. Charity nodded sympathetically. She picked up her lunch and smiled and walked over to where Lauren, Tyler and the rest of the squad were sitting.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked, standing behind an empty chair. She noticed Jenny opening her mouth and Lauren shaking her head at Jenny before replying.

"Course not, have a seat." Lauren told her with a smile.

"Thanks. I had to get away from Lila. She so jealous. It's not pretty." Charity said, shaking her head.

"I figured she would be. That girl is bad news." Tyler spoke up, reiterating his words to Charity earlier. Charity glanced at Lauren and Jenny. They were deep in conversation and Jenny kept giving her dirty looks.

"So, I was wondering if you were any good at math? Cause I was completely lost this morning." Tyler asked her. Charity didn't know what to say. She was decent at math, and she had understood today's lesson, but she didn't know if helping Tyler was the right thing to do in her quest to befriend Lauren.

"Uh, yeah I guess, I mean I got what we did today." She replied. She decided that honesty was always the best policy.

"Great, is there anyway you could help me after practice? I could get coach to leave the gym unlocked and we could work there." Tyler asked. Suddenly she realized that Lauren and Jenny were both staring at her.

"Sure. No problem." She answered brightly. She could prove to Lauren that she didn't have any interest in Tyler other than friendship, right? Jenny was looking at her like she was plotting all the ways she wanted Charity to die. Charity gave Lauren an innocent smile.

"That's cool, right Lauren?" She asked, sincerely wanting to know.

"Sure, he's not going to get math help from me, unless he wants to fail." Lauren laughed.

"Great, its settled then." Tyler said, excusing himself from the table.

"Lauren may trust you, new girl, but I don't. Keep that in mind." Jenny said menacingly as she and Lauren took their things to the trash.

"Will do." Charity whispered to herself.


	17. For Better or Worse

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lucas's words had hit her like a ton of bricks. Brooke couldn't stop the tears that were pouring down her face. She couldn't even catch her breath. Lucas didn't look much better, but at least he wasn't near hyperventilation. She finally got calmed down enough to speak.

"Please don't do this Lucas. I can try harder, I promise I will. I'll do anything, I swear." Brooke pleaded. She knew she probably looked and sounded pathetic.

"Please Broody." Brooke added, using her childhood nickname for him.

He gave her a small smile but shook his head sadly.

"I wish it were that easy, Cheery. You know we just aren't good together, who knows if we ever were. We don't want the same things. I'm the one who should be sorry Brooke. I should never have tried to force you to be something I knew you weren't. I knew that all you wanted in life was to love me and be a famous designer. I'm the one who wanted a family and for you to stay home and raise our family while I became a best-selling author. And you did try for me. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you. I'm sorry." Lucas apologized.

"If you really want to make it up to me, then don't do this!" Brooke exclaimed. She couldn't believe how quickly her world had come crashing down around her.

"I have to. Its what's best for all of us. It might hurt like hell now, but it's what we need and you know it." Lucas said sadly.

"I'm going to stay with my Mom for a couple weeks until I find an apartment. You and Charity can stay here. I don't want to have to uproot her again so quickly." Lucas told her.

"Oh no. You are not leaving a very pissed off Charity with me. It's not happening. No, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go upstairs and grab my things. I'm going to go back to Paris and finish the show. If you still want this when I get back in two weeks then I'll find a place to stay and you and Charity can stay here." Brooke said evenly. She was praying fervently that he would change his mind while she was gone.

"Fine. I won't change my mind though Brooke." He said, not meeting her eyes.

Brooke didn't answer him. She simply went to the phone and called for yet another taxi. With one last look at Lucas she slowly went up the stairs to get her bags and repack the few things she had taken out. When she reached her room she couldn't hold it in any longer. She shut the door behind her and let out a sob. She could hardly believe that he wanted to throw away so many years of their lives. She knew their marriage hadn't been easy but she wasn't ready to give up. She loved him too much to give up on him. The thought struck her then. What if he didn't love her anymore? What if she had been so rotten to him that he had fallen out of love with her? She could feel a part of her dying at the thought.

She realized that she felt more anger than sadness and she knew that was not a good thing. When she was hurt and angry she tended to do stupid things. She knew that she couldn't afford to do anything stupid right now, not when her marriage depended on it. Gathering her things she hauled them back downstairs.

"Lucas? The taxi will be here any minute." She called. She wanted to at least say goodbye to him. He walked out of his study and just looked at her. He looked at her like he was trying to memorize every feature on her face. She couldn't stop herself. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. She tilted her head back and looked up at him. She was willing him to kiss her. He was leaning down towards her. Their lips were nearly touching when the taxi started honking out front. He whipped his head up quickly. Brooke was not going to let the moment pass, though. She pulled him down to her and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. He returned the kiss, pushing her back against the wall. Finally he broke the kiss off.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Lucas said softly.

"Of course you should have. I'm your wife." Brooke told him, fixing him in her gaze.

"For better or worse, Lucas. I AM your wife." She added. She grabbed her suitcases and began to walk out the door.

"I'm sorry Brooke." Lucas called out to her.

He had no idea if she heard him or not.


	18. Broken Plans

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters.

As each hour passed, the butterflies in Charity's stomach grew. She was nervous about helping Tyler after practice. She knew that by behaving herself she could prove to Lauren that she wasn't out to hurt her. However, Charity had never been one to behave herself and Lila wasn't helping matters by egging her on.

"You should totally put the moves on Tyler today. You can't honestly tell me that the boy isn't fine." Lila said with a knowing smile. Charity glanced around the locker room. Lucky for Lila, Lauren and Jenny weren't there yet.

"Can you keep it down Lila. I'm not going to mess with Tyler. I'm going to be a good little girl." Charity said with a twinkle in her eye. At least she hoped she was.

"Alright ladies, 5 minutes!" Charity called out in reminder. She slammed her locker door, smoothed out her short shorts and quickly pulled her long straight brown hair up into a messy bun. Giving Lila one last glance, she hurried out into the gym.

A few of the guys were already shooting around in order to warm up. Charity picked a spot that allowed her good view and sat down and began stretching. When Tyler came out he looked her way and waved. She quickly returned the wave and continued stretching. Charity liked stretching alone. The quiet just felt right to her. Her solitude was soon interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the squad. Charity made her way over to Lauren.

"Are we still practicing the routine for the competition?" Charity asked.

"You mean for the Classic? Yes." Lauren replied.

"Alright ladies. I'm thinking about changing up the routine a bit. I want to practice front handspring twist to extensions. I'm thinking those would make the flow into a modified wolf's wall better than just plain elevator extensions" Lauren explained. Charity raised her eyebrows. Those stunts weren't exactly easy, but they would look amazing. If they could pull it off.

Two hours later and they almost had it. Well, Lauren, Charity and Jenny had it. Bella and Lila were struggling.

"Good job ladies. We'll work on it again tomorrow and then Charity and I will decide which way we'll go." Lauren said, dismissing practice. Charity was giving Bella a couple tips when Jenny walked up.

"Thanks Charity!" Bella said with a wave as she headed into the locker room.

"Why don't you try to keep your lips to yourself this time, new girl." Jenny reminded her sweetly before pushing by her. Charity was about to say something bitchy when Tyler jogged up.

"Ready for math or do you want to change first?" He asked with a smirk.

"Nah, I'm good. Lets get started." Charity replied. She grabbed her backpack out of the locker room and headed over to the practice mats to set up spot to study. A few minutes later Tyler joined her with his own books.

"Okay, so I'm stuck on problem 11." He said, handing her his work. She scanned the problem and checked his work against hers.

"Right here in step two, you're not following the order of operations." Charity explained. Tyler was a quick learner and picked up what she was saying right away. In no time they were laughing and joking as if they'd been friends all of their lives. They also somehow managed to get their math homework done as well.

"Thanks a lot Charity. I had fun doing my homework for once." Tyler said as they were packing their stuff up.

"Me too, we should do it again sometime." Charity replied.

"So, you're going to come to my party, right?" Tyler asked as they walked across the gym. Charity didn't see any reason not to. It wasn't as if it would just be her and Tyler.

"Yep, I'll be there." She said, making her decision.

"Good, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said with a grin. Charity returned his smile and headed into the locker room to get changed.

"Well, well, well, looks like our little plan is in full swing." Lila said as Charity rounded the corner. Charity gasped loudly. She hadn't been expecting Lila to wait on her.

"About that, we need to talk. I'm not so sure it's a great idea." Charity said as Lila followed her to her locker.

"What? I thought you despised Lauren." Lila screeched. Charity could tell this wasn't going to be easy.

"She's still not my favorite person, but she is my sister. I shouldn't have done what I did last night. Lauren didn't deserve that and she sure as hell doesn't deserve what we had planned." Charity said with a hint of finality in her voice. She wanted to make it clear to Lila that this was not up for debate.

"Fine, I get it. I wonder what would happen though if she found out about our plan? I mean, you apologized to her, you're getting close to Tyler. Wow, it seems to me you're still following our plan to a T. Or should I say your plan? I tried to stop you, remember?" Lila asked in a mockingly sweet voice.

"You wouldn't dare." Charity said, feeling her anger rising.

"Try me." Lila replied, crossing her arms and staring Charity down.

"You don't know who you're messing with, Lila. I'd be careful if I were you." Charity replied. She grabbed her things and left the locker room and Lila behind.


	19. If I could do it all over again

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

The week slowly crept by for Lucas. He had taken the coward's way out and told Charity her mother had been called back to Paris for the remainder of her trip. He did it partly because he wanted Brooke here when he broke the news, and partly because he still wasn't sure. He had been sure. Then he told Brooke. The pain he caused her had hurt him deeply. He realized just how much he loved her. His question now was could love be enough? He needed someone he could depend on, lean on for support, and she was none of that.

He was done thinking. He had spent three days holed up at home, thinking. It was Friday night and he wanted to get out and do something. Charity had already informed him that she wouldn't be home tonight. She had practice after school, then a game, then she was going out. That was fine with Lucas.

He quickly grabbed some nice jeans and a button up shirt and hopped in the shower. He spiked his hair and dabbed on some cologne. He jumped in the car and headed into town. Deciding that a few drinks sounded good, he pulled into Nicky's Tavern. He smiled as he walked in, remembering his first date with Brooke.

Glancing around he saw Peyton and Jake sitting at a table. He was about to walk back out and find a different bar when Jake waved him over.

"Hey man, it's been awhile." Jake said, clapping him on the back and motioning for him to have a seat. Lucas glanced at Peyton and saw that she was giving all of her attention to stirring her drink.

"Yeah, too long." Lucas agreed. This was going to be a long night. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Lucas was about to make up an excuse to get out of there.

"So, how's Brooke?" Jake asked.

"I'm going to go and get another drink." Peyton said suddenly. Lucas waited till she left the table before responding.

"Uh, she's good, well as good as you can be when you're getting divorced." Lucas said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I always thought you two were good together." Jake said, frowning. Lucas just nodded. It was hard to talk about it. Just then Jake's cell phone rang and he gave Lucas an apologetic smile.

"Hello?" Jake answered.

Lucas tried to tune out the conversation as he glanced around the crowded room.

"Do you see Peyton anywhere?" Jake asked, hanging up the phone and scanning the area around the bar.

"Nah, I haven't seen her." Luke replied.

"Damn. That was Jenny on the phone. Her car broke down on her way to the high school and the game starts in about twenty minutes. I've got to go and pick her up and take her." Jake explained.

"Go ahead, I can get Peyton home." Lucas offered. He had actually been hoping for a chance to talk to her again.

"Are you sure man?" Jake asked hurriedly. When Luke nodded, Jake grabbed his jacket and took off. Lucas just hoped that Peyton wouldn't be too upset with the situation.

Finally Lucas saw Peyton making her way back to the table.

"Where's Jake?" Peyton asked, glancing around.

"He left. Jenny was having car trouble. I said I would give you a ride home." He told her.

"Are you sure Brooke won't mind?" Peyton asked in amusement.

"Well I hadn't planned to call Paris to as her." Luke replied with a smile.

"Paris huh? She went back?" Peyton asked.

"Yep. She needed space to process some stuff." Luke said vaguely.

"Lauren?" Peyton guessed.

"No, actually. I told her I wanted a divorce." He said with a sad smile.

"Wow. I'm so sorry if this had anything to do with me telling you about Lauren." Peyton said as her eyes widened.

"It didn't. Well, not completely. We've been rocky for years." He admitted.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Peyton suddenly asked. Lucas nodded and they grabbed their things and headed out the door. Peyton gave him directions to her house, but otherwise the drive was quiet. When they pulled up Peyton invited him in. He knew he shouldn't but he accepted anyway.

"Have a seat. Do you want something to drink?" She asked, throwing her jacket over the back of a chair.

"Water would be great, thanks." He replied. He walked around the room, looking at all the pictures of her and Lauren. He stopped and picked up one of Lauren when she looked to be only a few months old. Peyton walked up beside him and touched the picture.

"This was taken right before you came home the first summer. I had this taken to give to you when I told you. But then Karen told me that you were married and that Brooke was pregnant and I couldn't go through with it. She said that she had never seen you so happy." Peyton said softly.

"Do you ever wish you could do things over?" He asked. Peyton nodded sadly.

"Me too, because as happy as I was with Brooke, I would give anything for a second chance with you." He told her as he cupped her face in his hands. He leaned down and kissed her softly. The kiss grew deeper, quickly. It was filled with 16 years of wishing, dreaming and most of all passion.


	20. With regret

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters.

Peyton melted into Lucas's arms. She had longed for this since the day she lied to him and left him. The only wish she'd ever made was to have a second chance with Lucas. A second chance for them to be a family. It couldn't have felt more right, or been more wrong.

"Lucas, no. We can't do this." Peyton said, pulling away from him. She regretted pulling away immediately, but Jake didn't deserve this.

"Peyton, we've waited so long for this, for what we should have had." Lucas said to her, pleading with his eyes. Peyton bit her lip. She wanted this so badly. She had been dreaming about it for so long and now that he was here with her, all she could think about were Jake and Brooke. How hurt they would be if they ever found out. It felt like high school again. She had hated the feelings of guilt when she and Lucas had kissed when he was dating Brooke. They ate at her until she felt raw. She wouldn't do that again.

"Lucas, I want this as much as you do, but we can't do this until we've both taken care of our other relationships. We've done this before and it blew up in our faces. I'm not willing to take that risk again." She said sadly. Lucas nodded in agreement.

"You're right. I don't want to give Brooke any more reason to hate me, or Jake for that matter. I'm going to go though. I don't trust myself around you right now." Lucas said with a smile.

"Do I tempt you, Lucas Scott?" Peyton asked with a grin.

"Do I really need to answer that?" He said softly, pulling her in for another kiss. Peyton indulged him for a minute, then pushed him away with a playful smile.

"Goodnight Luke." Peyton said in amusement. Lucas gave her a smile before pulling the door shut behind him.

Peyton sighed in contentment. Finally, it seemed like things were going her way. All she had ever wanted was to be with Lucas and raise their daughter. Not that she didn't love Jake.

Jake. Just thinking about him caused her to feel pangs of guilt. She was immediately filled with regret. Not for kissing Lucas, he was her first love, her true love. She would never regret anything with him. No, she was feeling regret for the pain she would cause Jake. Even if Lucas ended up staying with Brooke, she knew she had to end things with Jake. She had cheated on him and even if he forgave her, he would never have her whole heart. Not that she was sure he ever did. She couldn't ignore her feelings for Lucas any longer though. It seemed her passion for him had been reawakened.

Peyton decided that she would talk to Jake in the morning and headed for bed. She was changing into her pajama's when the phone rang. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was after midnight. Her first thought was Lauren and that she was hurt or in trouble. Peyton hurried to the phone.

"Hello?" She answered breathlessly.

"Peyton, it's me. I just wanted to make sure you got home alright." Jake replied. It was easy for Peyton to downplay her feelings for Jake when he wasn't around, but hearing his voice reminded her of just how much she loved him.

"Uh, yeah, I got home fine. How's Jen's car?" Peyton asked, trying to keep the conversation away from anything concerning Lucas.

"Oh, it was just the alternator. I gave her my car and had hers towed home. I'm going to put a new one in tomorrow. Want to come and get greasy with me?" Jake teased her. He knew she secretly liked getting dirty and working on cars.

"Hell yes!" She replied enthusiastically.

"I mean, yeah, I actually needed to talk to you anyway." Peyton said, remembering the reason she needed to talk to him.

"Great, come over whenever you're ready. I'll wait for you. I love you. Goodnight Peyton." Jake said.

"Goodnight." Peyton whispered as she hung up the phone.

Peyton laid down on her bed. She was so conflicted. On one hand was Lucas. He was the love of her life. He meant so much to her. Only, she didn't know if what she loved about him was the boy she remembered or the man he had became. The man she didn't really know.

Then there was Jake. He knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. Lauren adored him and he just naturally assumed a father's role with her. And Peyton loved being with him and Jenny. What it really boiled down to was; Did she love Lucas enough to hurt Jake? The only thing she knew was that right then, she couldn't answer that.


	21. Fears Confirmed

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

"Lauren, its five minutes till game time, where's Jenny?" Charity asked again. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Lauren roll her eyes. Charity stopped pacing and stood with her hands on her hips.

"I saw that." She tried to say sternly, but Lauren had started making faces at her, so it came out more giggly than she had planned.

"Seriously Charity, I don't know. Her phone was busy the last time I called. She'll be here, don't sweat." Lauren said optimistically.

"Oh, see, I told you." Lauren said looking behind Charity's back. Charity spun around and saw Jenny jogging across the gym.

"Sorry guys, my car broke down and dad had to bring me his car." She said breathlessly as she threw her pom-pom's down by the bleachers. Lauren gave Charity an 'I told you so' smile over Jenny's head.

"It's okay. I'm just nervous about doing the routine at half-time." Charity admitted to the girls. They had only all nailed the routine for the Classic yesterday. They had done it well today at practice too, but she was still worried.

"We need to practice it in front of a crowd and the Classic is next weekend. It's now or never." Lauren explained. Charity nodded. She was about to reply when the lights dimmed. Giving Lauren a weak smile she ran out onto the gym floor with the other girls to cheer while the line-up was called.

Tyler was called last since he was captain. When he ran out onto the court he gave them a little wave. Charity figured he was waving at Lauren but she still felt a little jolt of excitement. She mentally kicked herself for it too.

The first half flew by. The ravens were up by three. The crowd was already pumped because of the close game. Charity closed her eyes and tried to picture the routine being done flawlessly.

"Alright ladies, let's do this!" Lauren yelled as the got into formation on the floor. The lights dimmed, their music started and they executed perfectly. Charity was so proud of her squad. They had worked so hard. She only hoped that they would do as well next weekend.

"See, new girl, we pulled it off. No worries." Jenny said flipping Charity's pony tail as they cleared the floor.

"Breathe Charity." Lauren instructed. Charity let out the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Thanks. Weren't you worried?" Charity asked. Lauren seemed to have nothing but confidence.

"Sure, I was scared shitless. Never let 'em see ya sweat!" She quipped as she skipped off with a smile. Charity laughed out loud.

"Something funny?" Lila asked softly, walking up beside her. She stiffened when she saw it was Lila.

"Are you lost? I seem to remember giving you the brush off." Charity said coldly.

"We did a good job tonight. Wouldn't that be horrible if next time we're stunting, oops, my hand slipped?" Lila said in mock horror. Charity's eyes grew wide with disbelief.

"You wouldn't." Charity said shakily.

"And you wouldn't back out of our plan now would you?" Lila asked brightly.

"Course you wouldn't. See you at the party." She said, patting Charity's cheek. Charity performed the rest of the game while in a fog. She couldn't believe Lila had threatened her. She had to do something. Someone had to have some dirt on Lila. Maybe Tyler? She made a mental note to talk to him later.

After the game she was kicking herself for not asking her dad for a ride. She had originally planned to ride with Lila, but that was obviously out. Jenny and Lauren had already left and her dad wasn't answering at home. She sighed loudly, cursing her luck under her breath.

"Something wrong?" Tyler asked her. She spun around quickly. She thought that everyone had already left.

"Not now. I missed my ride. I thought I was going to be stuck here." She told him.

"Well Tyler's taxi service is only running to the hottest party of the year." He said teasingly.

"Good thing that's where I was headed." She replied with a grin. She followed him out to his car and smiled to herself when he opened the door for her. She had to keep reminding herself that he was Lauren's boyfriend.

"You guys rocked tonight at half-time." He said appreciatively as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Thanks, but how did you even see us?" She asked in confusion.

"I hung back and watched. Coach was pissed, but it was worth it." He smiled. She couldn't help but smile back at him. Why, why, why did he have to be taken?!

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something. You keep telling me that Lila is bad news. Why is that? Did she do something?" Charity asked slowly. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Not really. Just a vibe I started getting from her. Everything was cool between us for a long time. Then she made the cheerleading squad and we started hanging out with some of the girls and I really liked Lauren. She was fun to hang out with. She's different you know, from other girls. And Lila got insanely jealous. She started blowing up over tiny things and her temper was just unreal. So I told her we were over. She seemed to take it pretty well, but then there was the party last week. She would love nothing more than to hurt Lauren, I'm sure of it. I just didn't want you to get caught in the crossfire." He explained. Charity nodded.

"Okay, I have a confession to make. I don't know if Lauren has told you, but I'm her half-sister. We just found out that my dad is her dad too. And I was really mad at first and Lila and I kind of went overboard. When I realized that I was being petty I wanted out, but now Lila is sorta threatening me and I don't know how seriously to take her." Charity said in a rush. She couldn't believe she was telling Tyler all this, but she was currently only on speaking terms with 3 people in Tree Hill and she couldn't exactly tell Lauren or her dad this. Tyler was being pretty quiet and Charity was already regretting telling him.

"I hate to say this Charity, but I would take her pretty damn seriously. She's just got this twisted view of Lauren and like I said, she'd do anything to hurt her. And obviously anyone who gets in her way." Tyler sighed.

Charity had been afraid that he would say exactly that.


	22. Truth, Dare or Just Truth

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lauren couldn't stop grinning. It seemed like everyone at the party had come up to her at some point, to tell her how well the girls had performed at half-time. The only thing that could make her happier would be if Tyler would hurry up and get here. She hadn't seen Charity arrive yet, either. That combination was making her a bit nervous. She was about to dance with Kyle Avers when she saw them come in. Together.

She saw Tyler bend down to say something in Charity's ear. Charity laughed at whatever he had said to her. It was like they were in their own little world. Lauren took a deep breathe to calm herself.

"Never let 'em see ya sweat." She muttered to herself as she put on a big smile and made her way over to Tyler.

"Hey, been waiting for you." She said softly in his ear. When he turned to her she gave him a sly smile and winked.

"Well, it just so happens that I have been waiting all night to see you." He replied with a smirk.

"I'd about given up on you. You're lucky, I was about to dance with Kyle. They say the boy can move." She teased.

"You want to see moves, I'll show you moves. Lead the way." He said playfully. Lauren grabbed his hand and they made their way to his living room. Kyle, Logan and Tyler finished moving all the furniture out of the way and D.J Michaels took his spot behind the c.d. player.

"We don't call you D.J for nothing! Let's get some tunes!" Jenny called out from across the room. Lauren laughed at Jenny's impatience. Soon enough there was music blaring throughout the house.

"Let's see those moves." Lauren challenged. Tyler smirked at her and pulled her close. A few minutes later she had to admit, the boy could dance. After a few songs she decided she needed a drink.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink, do you want anything?" She asked Tyler.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm gonna go chat. Come find me when you're done." He said as he headed over to where some of the guys were hanging out. She watched him for a few minutes then started to head to where they had the bar set up. Turning around she bumped right into Lila Mason.

"Oh, Lila, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." Lauren apologized. Lila was giving her a death glare. Lauren raised her eyebrows in confusion. She didn't recall doing anything lately that would piss Lila off.

"What's the deal Lila? I apologized for bumping into you, what more do you want?" Lauren asked with indifference. Lila having a grudge against her for something really didn't even register on Lauren's radar.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Or maybe you already do and you just won't admit it to yourself. You see them together, _everyone_ sees them together. They have chemistry you know. More than you and he have at least. Maybe you should be asking yourself if you really believe that they're just friends." Lila said in a very fake, kind tone.

"Or maybe you should be asking yourself how you like your face, because if you don't back off I'm going to smash that pretty little nose of yours. And we wouldn't want that, would we?" Lauren replied in much the same voice. No, she changed her mind. She would love more than anything to wipe that knowing little smirk off of Lila's face.

"I see you have been thinking about Charity and Tyler then. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten so riled up so easily. You always play it so cool, Lauren. Nothing cool about watching you sister making a move for your boyfriend though, is there?" She continued to smirk.

"Alright Lila, you've made your point. You think Charity is after Tyler. I may be blonde, but unlike you, I'm not dumb." Lauren stated rudely. She pushed past Lila and made her way to the bar. A few shots later and she could barely remember what Lila had said to her.

"Lauren? Are you alright?" Charity asked, putting her hand on Lauren's arm to steady her.

"Me? I'm fantastical!" Lauren giggled loudly. So she had had slightly too many shots, but she was still upright, that had to count for something. She noticed Lila watching her and remembered her saying Charity liked Tyler.

"Lila told me you want my boyfriend. Not cool, Charity." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Lauren, listen to me. Lila is not your friend. Don't listen to her, okay? She's jealous of you and Tyler." Charity said urgently. Lauren shook her head with a smile.

"So are you." She whispered and nodded. Lauren may have been pretty wasted, but even she could tell by the way Charity refused to look at her, that she had spoken the truth.


	23. Little white lies

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

"Lauren, I'm heading over to Jake's, do you want to come?" Peyton asked through Lauren's door. Peyton heard her mumble something unintelligible and assumed that was a 'no'. She gathered up her things and was about to leave when the phone rang. She stood there a moment, hoping Lauren would grab it. By the fourth ring she knew that she had to get it.

"Hello?" She answered quickly.

"Good morning." Lucas responded. Peyton could hear the smile in his voice.

"Now it is." She said lightly.

"I was just calling to make sure that last night wasn't a dream. I would love to take you and Lauren out for dinner tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"That sounds great, but I think Lauren has plans." Peyton told him.

"No problem, I guess it's a date then. I'll pick you up at 7. Bye" Lucas said replied.

Peyton chuckled as she hung up the phone. Now all she had to do was find the strength to break Jake's heart. With a heavy sigh she gathered her things back up and trudged out to her car.

She decided on the ride over to spend the day with Jake first, before she broke the news to him. It was selfish, she knew, but she wanted to have one last day with him.

Pulling up in front of his house, she saw that he had everything out and ready for them. She smiled to herself when she saw him walk out in some ratty shorts and a sweatshirt. Even in rags he still attracted her.

"Hey." He called as she jumped out of the car.

"Hey yourself." She replied with a smile. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. The kiss was getting very deep when they were interrupted.

"Ugh, parental p.d.a is so not cool first thing in the morning." Jenny said holding up a hand to block the sunlight from her eyes as she stepped outside.

"Is Lauren up yet?" She asked Peyton.

"She wasn't when I left, but you're more than welcome to go get her up."Peyton replied with a smile.

"Dad, can I borrow your car?" Jenny asked sweetly, batting her eyes at him. Jake laughed and dug the keys out of his pocket.

"Be back later!" Jenny called over her shoulder as she skipped off.

"Now, where were we?" Peyton asked, leaning in to Jake.

"Not doing what we were. Not if we want to get our work done that is." Jake teased.

"Oh fine, spoilsport." Peyton pouted playfully. Jake grabbed a towel off of the chair and flipped her with it. Peyton put her hands on her hips in mock horror. Finally they both laughed.

"Let's get greasy." Peyton said excitedly. Two hours later they were both covered in grease, but Jenny had a functioning car again.

"You do good work, Sawyer. Ever thought about becoming a mechanic?" Jake asked as they headed in the house to clean up.

"Yep right before I decided to be a rap star." Peyton quipped. Jake shook his head with a smile. They quickly washed up and changed their clothes. Jake began rummaging through the fridge for something to make for lunch.

"Hey, didn't you want to talk to me about something?" He asked her from the kitchen. Peyton let out a long breath.

"Yeah, I did actually. Everything has just been kinda crazy lately. With Lucas and Lauren and us. I was thinking that I could use some space. Just some time to collect my thoughts and get everything dealt with before I got lost in wedding plans, you know?" Peyton said nonchalantly. She felt horrible for lying to Jake, but she really wasn't sure what she was going to do. Some space sounded just perfect.

Jake came around the corner from the kitchen with a confused expression on his face.

"So are you saying you want us to take a break?" Jake asked for clarification.

"Yeah. Um, just for a little while. It's just too much right now. Trying to plan a wedding and dealing with Lucas about Lauren. I just need to focus on Lauren right now. In fact, I've barely spoken to her since she found out about Lucas." Peyton admitted.

"Alright. I won't lie, I'm not happy about it. Just tell me that this doesn't have anything to do with Lucas, other than him being Lauren's father. Tell me that and I'll feel a whole lot better." Jake requested. Why did he have to ask for the one thing that Peyton couldn't tell him?

"Of course it doesn't. Lucas and I are in the past." Peyton lied weakly. Jake gave her a long look before nodding.

"Alright. So, do you want lunch or do you want to head home and see if Lauren's there?"Jake asked quietly.

"I'm gonna go. I really need to talk to her." Peyton said quickly. She really just wanted to get out of the house. Suddenly it felt too small, like it was closing in on her.

"So I guess I'll see you this weekend." Jake said holding the door open for her. She shook her head in confusion.

"The Classic is this weekend. Didn't Lauren ask you to chaperone? Jenny said she was going to." Jake asked.

"Like I said, I haven't really talked to her." Peyton said. Jake nodded and waved good bye to her as she tried to force herself to walk and not run from the house. She had forgotten all about the Classic. This was going to be just great. 2 days with Jake would have been great, a week ago. Now that things were awkward, she wasn't looking forward to it.

She drove home quickly, hoping that Lauren was still there. She saw Jake's car in the driveway when she pulled up.

"Hey mom." Lauren greeted her as she walked in. She and Jenny were sprawled on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey girls. Jake told me that you needed me to chaperone the Classic this weekend. Do you still need me, because I really need to get my piece done before Monday." Peyton asked. She really did need to get her article done, but it was nearly finished already and would be done long before next weekend.

"Yeah I do actually. I think we're still a couple parents short. There were a couple other girls who were going to ask their parents though." Lauren said.

"So I guess we're both going to Charlotte?" Peyton sighed. Lauren nodded sympathetically.

"I know. It's horrible, having to hang out with your fiancée and your kids for two whole days." Lauren commiserated sarcastically. Jenny laughed along with Lauren.

"Well, now actually, its just the kids. They're nightmares, didn't you know? So bratty." Peyton teased. Jenny and Lauren glanced at each other before launching pillows at Peyton. Peyton threw them right back. Soon they were all laughing too hard to aim the pillows anymore.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm going to dinner with Lucas tonight. He wants to talk about you and some kind of custody arrangement." Peyton said offhandedly. It was actually getting easier to lie.

"What?" Lauren screeched.

"No way, I don't even know him." She continued.

"I know sweetie. I'm sure Lucas won't have any problem waiting until you feel comfortable." Peyton said soothingly.

"I just wanted to let you know. Don't you have plans with your boyfriend tonight?" Peyton asked. She vaguely remembered Lauren telling her that some boy had asked her out, but she couldn't remember his name.

"Tyler? Yeah we're supposed to go to the movies." Lauren told her.

"What are you wearing?" Jenny interrupted urgently. Lauren shrugged.

"We've got to hurry. We only have 8 hours!" Jenny exclaimed, dragging Lauren to her room. Peyton smiled. They reminded her of how she and Brooke were at their age. The smile quickly left her face. She felt guilty thinking about Brooke when she had a date with her husband that night.


	24. Let the fun begin

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Charity was lucky. She managed to sneak into her house without waking her dad up. It truly hadn't been easy. Mainly because Logan had tried to follow her in. Whispered threats didn't seem to carry as much weight, but Logan finally realized that leaving with all of his appendages was far better than staying without some. The last thing she thought about before passing out was the hurt look on Lauren's face when she had realized that Charity was jealous of her and Tyler.

It was after 2pm when Charity finally woke up on Saturday. She showered and got dressed and went downstairs. Her dad was in his study, presumably writing. He only shut the door when he didn't want to be disturbed, so Charity went to make herself some food. She was just about to put a frozen pizza in the oven when her dad came into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." He teased her good naturedly.

"Whatever, like you even noticed I wasn't up yet." She replied with a smile. It was common knowledge that when he was writing he tuned the rest of the world out. He shrugged with a smile.

"So, I'm going out tonight. What are your plans?" He asked her as he poured their lemonade.

"I don't have any yet. Where are you going?" She asked curiously. Her dad seldom went out and this would make the second time this week.

"I'm going to dinner with a friend." He said with a slight smile.

"A _female_ friend?" Charity asked slyly. She assumed the answer was no. Her dad never went out with a woman unless her mom was with him.

"As a matter of fact yes. Peyton Sawyer." He said, winking at her. Charity was taken aback by her dad's answer. Why would he be taking his old girlfriend out to dinner? She remembered her mom saying that she and Peyton had been friends, but Charity couldn't imagine her mother being okay with the situation, regardless.

"Does mom know?" She asked bluntly. Something was wrong, she could tell by the way her dad sighed and bent down over the counter to be on eye level with her.

"I didn't want to tell you this, just yet, but your mother and I are getting a divorce." He said quietly. The words Charity had least expected to hear had come out of his mouth. The glass of lemonade she had been holding, dropped, shattering glass all over the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll get the broom." Charity said quickly. Her dad put his arm out to stop her.

"It's okay, I'll get it. Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to cancel my plans tonight?" He asked worriedly.

She didn't want him to go out with Peyton, nor did she want to have to spend the whole night avoiding the subject with him.

"No, dad, I'm fine. It was just a shock really." Charity said, nodding. He held onto her arm for another few seconds before nodding and letting her go. She quickly ran upstairs to her room. She was careful to shut her door quietly, although she was tempted to slam it. She needed someone to talk to. She desperately wanted to talk to her mom, but who knew what time it was in Paris just then. She decided to call Tyler. He was the only person here who wouldn't bitch her out for calling. She dug through her backpack for his number. She dialed his number with shaky fingers. She felt traitorous just calling him.

"Hello?" He answered. Just the sound of his voice gave her chills.

"Tyler? It's Charity." She replied nervously. She hoped she hadn't woken him up.

"Hey. I'm glad its you actually. Did you have a good time last night?" He asked her. She couldn't contain her smile at his words.

"Nah, that was the lamest party I've ever been to." She deadpanned. The line was quiet for a few seconds.

"I'm kidding! It was fun. Have you talked to Logan? He tried to come home with me last night." She said, laughing.

"Really? Sounds kinky." He teased.

"Oh yeah, Logan is the man of my dreams." She replied sarcastically. She loved the sound of his laughter.

"So, what's up?" He asked.

"I'm kinda having a bad day. I needed a friendly voice." She told him.

"What's going on?" He asked curiously.

"My dad told me that he and my mom are getting a divorce. My mom's in Paris, so I can't talk to her and let's just say no one from Raleigh misses me." Charity explained.

"Wow, I'm sorry. Listen, let me make a phone call real quick. You be ready to go at 8pm and look good, I'll do the rest. I'm not taking no for an answer. See ya at 8." Tyler said, hanging up.

Charity spent the rest of the afternoon upstairs, avoiding her dad. She heard him call out that he was leaving early in the evening. She showered and changed into a short jean skirt and a low-cut sparkly top. She added some silver earrings and some sandals. She blow-dried her hair and shook it out for a tousled look.

At 8pm on the dot her doorbell rang. She hurried down the stairs and paused to check her reflection in the mirror before answering the door. She opened the door and saw Tyler and a boy she'd never met, standing on her porch.

"Hey Charity. This is Derek, Derek, this is Charity. Derek's a good friend of mine, he was on the basketball team with me before he moved this summer. Now we have to play against him instead of with him." Tyler said, introducing them.. Charity surveyed Derek. He wasn't bad looking. Not at all. He was tall, like Tyler, but with jet black curls and big green eyes.

"Nice to meet you." She said politely, holding out her hand. He shook it with a smile.

"Well kids, let's get going. The movie starts in twenty minutes and Lauren is waiting in the car." Tyler said, rushing them down the steps.

Charity nearly tripped over her feet. She was going on a double date with Tyler and Lauren? Fabulous. She had no idea if Lauren even remembered talking to her last night. Lauren had been pretty drunk, after all. But Charity hadn't been. She still remembered the hurt look on Lauren's face with perfect clarity.


	25. Save tonight

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton's stomach was in knots. She had changed clothes four times before settling on a simple black dress. Now she had been pacing and watching the clock for the past fifteen minutes. Finally the doorbell rang.

"Do you want me to get it mom?" Lauren called from the kitchen. Peyton had been hiding out in her room to avoid Lauren's questions. She was sure her daughter would wonder why she had gotten more dressed up for diner with Lucas than she did for a date with Jake.

"No, I'm coming." Peyton called, quickly taking a deep breathe and one last look in the mirror before hurrying to the door. She noticed Lauren's jaw drop out of the corner of her eye as she pulled open the door. Peyton giggled when she saw that Lucas's expression mirrored Lauren's.

"Wow, you look amazing." Lucas finally said.

"Thanks. You look pretty good yourself." She replied. She grabbed her jacket and waved good bye to Lauren and followed Lucas down the steps to his car.

"So where are we going?" Peyton asked as they took off.

"Well, first I thought we should go out, but then I realized that had the potential for awkwardness, should we run into anyone. So then I thought we could go back to my house and I would whip up my world-class pasta and we could watch a movie. Is that alright?" Lucas asked, glancing at her in the dark.

"Sound just perfect." Peyton said with a smile. Truth be told, she had been worried about running into Jake.

"Let's just hope this time we don't have any surprise visitors." Peyton joked wryly. Lucas chuckled as he pulled the car into his driveway. He hurried around to Peyton's door to open it for her.

"Huh, you're mom must have raised you right." Peyton teased as she got out of the car.

"That she did, but Keith said to only open doors for the pretty girls." He replied, winking at her. Peyton shook her head with a smile.

Soon they were laughing and sipping some wine while Lucas cooked dinner.

"So what do you do for a living?" Peyton asked.

"I write. I've had a couple short stories published, but right now I'm working on my first novel. What about you?" He asked curiously. Peyton wasn't at all surprised to hear that he was published. He had been writing since she had known him.

"I profile up and coming artists for a small magazine out of Charleston. I review new shows and galleries as well." She told him proudly. She really loved her work.

"Do you still draw?" He inquired as he added some spices to his pasta sauce. Peyton took a large drink of her wine before answering. If she had to name a regret in life besides leaving Lucas, this would be it.

"No. I haven't drawn anything since Lauren was born. At first I didn't have time, then when I did, I just couldn't. Nothing felt right about my drawings anymore. I guess I realized that I would never draw something that meant anything to anyone other than myself, so I stopped trying." She explained quietly. She was thankfully when he only glanced at her and didn't press her. She had already told him more about it than she had discussed with anyone else.

"Dinner will be done in a few minutes. Why don't you go in the living room and pick out a movie. We can eat and relax at the same time." He said, showing her to the living room.

"Anything?" Peyton asked with a grin. It sounded like payback time for all the gory horror films he had made her watch.

"I'm going to regret this I'm sure, but yeah, anything." He answered with a knowing smile. Peyton clapped her hands with a sly smile.

Turning to survey the movie selection, she caught a glimpse of a photo in a frame on the bookcase. She walked over and picked it up. It appeared to be a recent photo of the Scott family. Peyton traced Lucas's face with her finger. Then she glanced at Brooke's smiling face, but quickly turned her eyes to their daughter, Charity. Peyton had never met her, but judging by the photo she'd have known who Charity was at first glance. She was nearly a carbon copy of Brooke Davis at 16. Dimples included, Peyton noted dryly. Finally Peyton sat the picture down and grabbed a cheesy romantic comedy.

"Dinner is served, Milady." Lucas said in a very bad British accent. Peyton giggled and hurried to help him as he struggled with their plates and their wine glasses.

"So what torture, I mean movie, did you pick out for us?" He teased after they had gotten everything sat down.

"Oh, you'll love it!" Peyton said brightly, slipping the DVD in.

"Oh, I'm sure." Lucas deadpanned. As the movie started and they began to eat, Peyton realized she hadn't thought about Jake, or felt guilty, at all this evening. Well, that was, until now. Peyton bit her lip as Lucas leaned over to kiss her softly. Peyton returned the kiss and ran her hands through his hair. It seemed like they couldn't get their clothes off fast enough.

"Are you sure?" Lucas whispered as he kissed her neck. She moaned with pleasure and he took that as a yes.

"That was a good movie." Lucas remarked playfully as he realized the had missed the whole movie. Peyton smiled and curled up closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and they drifted off to sleep.


	26. And the plot thickens

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Charity walked to Tyler's car as slowly as she could, without being obvious. She truly did not want to see Lauren just then. She smiled at Derek when he held the door open for her. He really was very cute. She bit her lip nervously as she slid in the backseat of the car. Lauren turned around in her seat. Charity knew what was coming. Lauren was going to call her out in front of everyone.

"Hey! I'm glad you could come with us tonight. Tyler said you were having some issues. Nothing serious I hope." Lauren said all in one breath.

"Um, kinda, but I don't really want to talk about it." Charity said in confusion. Why was Lauren being so nice to her? Maybe Lauren really had been too drunk to remember talking to her last night. Charity relaxed into her seat.

"So do you live around here still?" Charity asked, turning to face Derek.

"I live about 15 minutes away in a little town called Bear Creek. We'll play you guys this weekend at the Classic." He explained. Charity already loved the way his eyes twinkled when he smiled.

"Good. Just look for the hottest cheerleader there, that would be me, and we can hang out." She said flirtatiously.

"Sounds like a plan." Derek agreed with a smile.

"So, where are we going?" Charity asked as they pulled up in front of a large house.

"This is Kyle's house. He invited a few of us over to hang out." Lauren told her. Charity raised her eyes at Lauren's idea of "few". She could already hear the music blaring and there were tons of cars lining the street.

Charity was thankful they were at a party. That meant that she didn't have to be with Lauren all night.

"C'mon, I want you guys to play a game with us!" Jenny said, bounding out of the kitchen. Charity tried to slip away, but Jenny grabbed her elbow and drug her into the kitchen. Charity saw a couple other girls from the squad, Brianna and Bella, along with Logan, Kyle and Jenny.

"Let's play 'I never'." Lauren said grabbing a couple bottles of tequila and some shot glasses.

"Everyone knows how to play, right?" Jenny asked as she and Lauren poured shots. Charity nodded slowly, wishing she didn't.

"I'll start. Let's see… I've never slept with my boyfriend's brother." Jenny said after pondering for a moment. Charity glanced around the table and saw Logan take his shot.

"Logan! I never realized you like boys!" Lauren laughed loudly. Charity giggled when Logan's face turned a pretty shade of purple.

"It was my girlfriend's sister! A sibling, right?" He sputtered. Finally the laughter died down.

"Alright, I've never kissed a member of the same sex." Logan said, mostly to clarify his sexual preference. Charity hated to admit it, but she took her shot.

"Charity, you have some explaining to do." Tyler said, raising his eyebrows in interest. Charity rolled her eyes.

"It was a dare. Last summer at a party I got dared to kiss my boyfriend's twin sister. It was just a quick peck." She assured everyone.

"Any chance of seeing a replay?" Derek asked with a sly smile. Charity laughed and punched him playfully.

"My turn. I've never slept with a friend's boyfriend or girlfriend." She said, to clarify for Logan. She was surprised when everyone at the table except Lauren took their shots. Apparently Lauren was surprised too. She looked back and forth between Jenny and Tyler.

"Well, not everyone can go at once, so I'll just take my turn now. I've never pretended to be my sister's friend so that I could steal her boyfriend." Lila said, walking up with a huge smirk on her face. Everyone just stared at her in silence.

"No takers? Well here Charity, why don't you take mine?" She continued, handing a shot to Charity.

"Well I would, if that were true. But here, you take it, cause I've never been so jealous of my ex's new girlfriend that I would threaten physical harm to someone because of it." Charity replied, shoving the drink back at Lila.

"Or maybe it would be simpler to say I've never been a crazy bitch." Charity added snidely. Lila came at her swinging. Charity wasn't one to back down in a fight, but she was glad that Derek and Tyler immediately jumped up and grabbed her. Before she knew what was happening, Jenny and Lauren had her cornered.

"What the hell was that about?" Jenny asked angrily. Lauren didn't look happy either.

"She's crazy! You can't honestly tell me that you believe her. Like my first day here she told me how much she couldn't stand you Lauren. And then she wanted me to take Tyler from you and when I wouldn't she threatened me! She told me that the next time we do the routine for the Classic she'd drop me if I didn't!" Charity exclaimed angrily, telling _mostly_ the truth. Lauren narrowed her eyes, as if she were trying to decide if she believed Charity or not.

"She's telling the truth Lauren. She told me about Lila threatening her on the way to my party last night." Tyler said, vouching for her. Jenny still looked pissed, but Lauren didn't look like she wanted to punch her anymore.

"So you don't want my boyfriend?" Lauren asked her evenly. Charity glanced at Derek and saw that he looked very interested in her answer. So did Tyler, for that matter.

"No. Tyler and I are just friends." She said emphatically, smiling at Tyler. Tyler nodded in agreement.

"Fine. I'll take care of Lila on Monday." Lauren said, dismissing the whole matter. Everyone headed back to what they had been doing, except for Tyler and Derek. Tyler gave her one last long look before joining Lauren.

"Is it always so dramatic around here? Man, I shouldn't have moved. I always miss the good stuff." He joked, stepping closer to her.

"You didn't this time." Charity pointed out with a chuckle.

"True. So, this wasn't much of a first date, but you seem fun. Do you seriously want to get together this weekend?" He asked.

"Sure. I'll see if I can fit you in between dodging Lila's attempts to kick my ass and kissing Lauren's." She joked with a smile.

"Good. Maybe this will give you some extra incentive." Derek whispered as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She ran her hand up his chest and settled it behind his neck, playing with his curls. She needed Derek to stick around. He succeeded in pushing all thoughts of Tyler out of her mind.


	27. Dare to dream

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton woke up disoriented. The room she was in was definitely _not_ her living room. She turned her head and saw Lucas snoring beside her. She smiled slowly, as the previous nights events replayed in her mind. She dropped her head to snuggle into his shoulder when she heard a loud gasp. Her head snapped up and she saw Brooke standing in the doorway.

Correction, not Brooke, Brooke's daughter. Charity was staring at her in utter disbelief. Peyton was sure she had the 'deer in headlights' look on her face. She quickly nudged Lucas to wake him up. He looked at her questioningly and she nodded in Charity's direction. She was not about to start explaining herself to Lucas's daughter. She had her own daughter at home that Peyton was sure was awaiting her own explanation.

"Oh shit." Lucas muttered, finally seeing Charity. Charity gave him a look that plainly said 'drop dead' and whirled around and stalked up the stairs. Peyton bit her lip nervously. This was definitely not good. In fact, the more awake she became, the more she realized how not good this situation was. Brooke's daughter had caught her in bed with Lucas. She was probably already on the phone to Brooke.

"Well that was awkward." Lucas said, getting untangled from Peyton and putting his clothes back on.

"Awkward and absolutely terrible. Lucas, she probably has Brooke on the next flight home!" Peyton exclaimed, throwing her own clothes on.

"I doubt it. Charity and Brooke aren't like you and Lauren. Brooke's never going to win any mother of the year awards, that's for sure." Lucas said dryly. He kissed Peyton lightly on the lips, before heading for the stairs.

"I'm going to talk to her. If you need to call Lauren, go ahead." He told her as he hurried upstairs. Peyton sighed, dreading the conversation to come. Lauren would be livid. Peyton considered telling her she had gone to Jake's after meeting Lucas. In fact, that sounded like a brilliant idea to Peyton just then. She made sure to block the number, just in case Lauren checked the ID and dialed home.

"Hello?" Lauren answered on the first ring. She sounded agitated. Peyton felt sorry for causing Lauren to worry.

"Hey Laur, listen I'm at Jake's house. I'll be home in a little bit okay? I'm sorry for not calling earlier." Peyton lied.

"Try again mother." Lauren replied shortly. Peyton furrowed her brow in confusion. How could Lauren know she was lying?

"I called Jake's this morning when I woke up and found out you hadn't bothered to come home last night. He was interested to know that you were having dinner with Lucas before you no showed. So like I said, try again." Lauren informed her coldly. Peyton's breath caught in her throat. So Jake knew, and if Brooke didn't know yet, she probably would soon. Peyton massaged her forehead, tiredly. This was not how she had wanted them to find out.

"Look, I'll be home in a little while and we'll talk then." Peyton said softly.

"Oh you mean you'll lie to me some more?" Lauren replied sarcastically. Peyton was tired and stressed and she'd had about enough of Lauren's attitude.

"You listen to me Lauren. I may have made some mistakes lately, but I'm only human. I'm still your mother and even though you aren't happy with me right now, you can still speak to me with some respect." Peyton told her frankly.

"I could, if I thought you deserved any." Lauren replied softly before hanging up on Peyton.

Peyton wiped away a tear. All she had wanted was to be with Lucas, for them to be a real family with Lauren. And all she and Lucas had succeeded in doing was hurting everyone around them. She couldn't believe they had been so selfish. She felt the tears she had been fighting, start to fall. She cried for the pain she had caused Jake and Lauren, for the absolute betrayal of Brooke, for herself, or the self she had been before Lucas had come back into her life. Mostly though, she cried for the relationship that she now knew could never be. She glanced up when she heard someone coming down the stairs. Her eyes met Lucas's and he rushed over to her. He tried to pull her into his arms, but she jerked away.

"Peyton, what's wrong?" Lucas asked her. She could tell he didn't understand what was going on.

"We can't do this Luke. We're being selfish." Peyton said stubbornly. She knew he would try to change her mind but she was standing firm.

"What are you talking about? We both want this. We've given up so much, Peyton. We can have this. I spoke with Charity and she agreed not to say anything to Brooke. I'm going to tell her Peyton. I'm not sneaking around this time." Lucas said, fixing her with his gaze.

"You don't get it Lucas. Yes, we want this. What about Lauren and Jenny and Jake and Charity and Brooke? What about what they want?" Peyton asked, counting them off on her fingers.

"Why is what we want so much more important than everyone else we love?" She asked softly.

"I don't know Peyton. Okay? All I know is that I'm not happy with Brooke and you may have been content with Jake, but he's not who you're meant for and you know it. I want to be with you. I'm willing to make sacrifices for that to happen. Charity loves me and she wants me to be happy. Sure, she's not thrilled right now, but she'll come around. Lauren will too. It'll just take time Peyton. Please, just give us some time. " Lucas pleaded.

Peyton nodded slowly. He was right. They did deserve this. They had both given up so much, for so long.


	28. Guilt

**A/N:I just wanted to thank everyone who's been reviewing my story. I love reading what you have to say! And please, if you read, review! Even if it's just a yay or nay. Thanks!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton wished Lucas would drive faster. She desperately wanted to get home and make things right with Lauren. She always hated when Lauren was upset with her.

"I'm so sorry about this morning, Peyton." Lucas apologized again, as they pulled up in front of Peyton's house.

"It's not your fault Lucas. I just wish we could have told everyone in our own time. I'm sure everything will work out though. I'll call you later." Peyton said with a smile. She leaned over to kiss him goodbye and hurried out of the car and up to the house.

She opened the door to find Lauren sitting on the couch. She had her arms crossed and a sullen look on her face. Peyton took a deep breathe, anticipating the blow-up that she was sure was coming.

"I want the truth mother. I want to hear you say it." Lauren demanded quietly. Peyton blinked in confusion. She had been expecting so much more anger than that.

" I stayed at Lucas's last night. We fell asleep watching a movie." Peyton lied. The truth that Lauren wanted was too hard to admit to.

"Why don't I believe you? Oh wait, I know, because every word out of your mouth has been a lie lately!" Lauren exclaimed, jumping up off of the couch and marching over to her.

"Fine. You don't want to tell me the truth, that's fine. But you better tell Jake the truth. He doesn't deserve to be lied to anymore than I do." Lauren said softly, whipping around and going to her room. Peyton jumped as Lauren slammed her door.

Lauren was right. Peyton had been lying to everyone she cared about. Including herself. She really needed to try to make things right with everyone. She was about to pick up the phone and call Jake and explain everything, when the calendar caught her eye. Big black marker proclaimed next weekend to be the Classic. Peyton groaned as she remembered that Jake was chaperoning as well. Maybe she could just smooth things over till after the Classic. Then she would tell him. Nodding slowly, she dialed his number.

"Hello?" Jake answered. Peyton couldn't help smiling. Just the sound of his voice made her feel better.

"Hey, Lauren told me she freaked this morning and called you. I'm sorry about that. Lucas and I went out to discuss some potential custody arrangements, then he invited me back to his place and we fell asleep watching some cheesy chic flick." Peyton explained casually. There was silence on the line for a few seconds. Peyton's heart was beating quicker. What if he didn't believe her? Why should he, she was lying to him after all. These thoughts raced through her head as she waited for him to respond.

"If you say that's all that happened, I'll believe you. I'm not going to lie to you Peyton, I don't like what happened. I know your history with Lucas and it makes me nervous. Like I said, though, you tell me you fell asleep and that's it and we'll be good." Jake replied frankly.

"We fell asleep." Peyton confirmed. They had fallen asleep. It was what they had done beforehand that was troubling her.

"Alright then. So did you get custody arrangements worked out?" He asked.

"Uh, not really. Lauren wants to get to know him on her own turf first I think." Peyton stammered.

"Right. Makes sense. So, I guess I'll see you this weekend?" Jake asked hopefully. Peyton sighed. She hoped he would remember the space that she had told him she needed.

"Yep, I'll be turning my head to the wild partying going on, same as you." She laughed. Jake laughed with her.

"Well I guess I'll talk to you later." She said. He agreed and she hung the phone up slowly. She felt horrible for lying to him. It would only make telling him the truth that much harder. But, it was easier to lie to him before spending two days with him than to spend two days either fighting or in silence. Now if she could just get Lauren to talk to her.

Peyton walked down the hall to Lauren's room and knocked softly. When she didn't get an answer, she tried to knob and wasn't at all surprised that it was locked.

"Lauren, please open the door so we can talk." Peyton asked through the door. She heard the lock unclick and she pushed open the door.

"Make it quick, I'm trying to rework the routine for this weekend." Lauren said dully.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Peyton asked, furrowing her brow. She's heard that it was really good, actually.

"Lila is what's wrong with it. She was one of Charity's base's for the wolf wall, but due to personality conflict, I have to move her. So that means I have to rework the formations to get her in a different spot." Lauren explained.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I remember when Brooke would become the Cheer Nazi before every Classic. It was hell." Peyton said, smiling fondly at the memory.

"Brooke, she's Charity's mother right?" Lauren asked her. Peyton nodded.

"Yeah." Peyton replied guiltily.

Charity's mother, Lucas's wife and her ex-best friend.


	29. Here come the Ravens

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

"Mom, where is my uniform?" Lauren yelled as she frantically threw her things into her duffel bag. It had been a long hard week. Between dealing with Lila's tantrums about relearning her part of the routine and avoiding Charity as much as possible and being nervous about the competition this weekend, Lauren was spent. She needed five minutes to relax and get her emotions in check, but they had to be on the bus in thirty minutes and she couldn't find her uniform.

"It's in the dryer, do you need some help?" Her mom called from her room. Lauren would love some, but none that her mother could give. She needed to get over the awkwardness with Charity that had sprung up about the time Charity found Lauren's mother in bed with their father. Charity had told Lauren about it last Monday and since then they'd been avoiding each other like the plague. The tension between them seemed to spread like wildfire through the rest of the squad, which made their practices less than productive.

"Here's your uniform. Do you have everything else you need?" Her mom asked, tossing her uniform to her. Lauren nodded and they grabbed their bags and took off.

Lauren tried to use the drive to the school to breath deeply and relax. She planned to talk to Charity at some point on the ride there to sort of clear the air between them. She hoped that if she showed up as her usual calm, cool, collected self, that the rest of the squad would follow suit.

Pulling up, she took one last deep breath and smiled at her mom before grabbing her bags and heading out into the sea of people who were mingling in the parking lot.

"Lauren!" She heard Jenny yelling for her. She glanced around but didn't see her, so she kept weaving around people to get to the bus. Finally she got her things stowed away.

"Lauren, there you are." Jenny said, brushing by people to get to her. Lauren smiled, at least she and Jenny hadn't changed, Lauren could always count on Jen for anything.

"Lila and Charity still aren't here yet." Jenny told her, worriedly. Lauren sighed loudly. Her worst fear was that Lila would no-show today and totally screw them.

"Calm down. Charity will be here, I'm not worried about her. Lila, on the other hand…"Lauren trailed off. She bit her lip as she scanned the parking lot. Most of the people had gone, leaving just the basketball team, the cheerleading squad and the coaches and parents who were chaperoning. She spotted her mom and Jake chatting with a group of parents. No Lila or Charity though. Just then she saw Lucas's car tearing into the parking lot.

"Well, there's Charity." She said, pointing out the car to Jenny. Lauren watched as Charity jumped out and grabbed her bag and quickly made her way to the bus.

"Sorry guys, we are running behind today. Dad forgot that he agreed to chaperone in mom's place since she won't be back till next weekend." Charity explained. Lauren' eyes widened at Charity's words. She hadn't realized that Lucas would be coming. She wondered if her mother knew. Lauren quickly scanned the crowd and found her mother watching Lucas walk towards her and Jake. She saw her glance at Jake, then turn to Lucas with wide eyes. Her mom quickly shook her head at Lucas.

"Oh, I didn't know your mom was coming." Charity said slowly, following Lauren's gaze.

"Yeah, well, for this weekend it's their problem. We have other things to worry about. Like the fact that Lila still isn't here." Lauren said, forcing herself to turn her attention back to Charity and Jenny.

"Everyone, on the buses! Let's get this show on the road." Their principal called out over the megaphone. Lauren waved at Tyler as he boarded the team's bus. She was glad that the squad got a bus to themselves. They needed the extra space for all their stuff.

Lauren's shoulders slumped as she got on the bus and sat down. What were they going to do now that Lila hadn't shown up? There wasn't enough time to rework the routine and they couldn't do it without Lila. Just as she was on the verge of tears, the doors opened and Lila hopped on the bus. Lauren stared daggers at her. She knew that Lila had probably shown up at the last second on purpose.

"Sorry I'm late." Lila said brightly, giving Lauren a sarcastic smile. Lauren vowed to herself that she was kicking Lila off the squad the second they got back.

The ride was mostly long and uneventful. The girls chatted and then listened to the music for their routine and visualized it in their heads. They didn't perform until Saturday afternoon, but they had to cheer for the guys tonight and tomorrow morning, first. That didn't leave a lot of time for extra practice.

Finally they got to the hotel. Lauren noticed Charity light up when she saw that Bear Creek was arriving at the same time.

"Down girl, you don't want to scare him away with your over eagerness." Lauren joked with Charity as they got off the bus. Charity was smoothing out her shirt and fluffing her hair.

"Do I look alright?" Charity asked nervously. Lauren laughed and nodded.

"You do have it bad for him don't you?" She asked, giggling.

"He's so hot Lauren, and he's really sweet and funny and ugh, it's obvious isn't it?" Charity moaned.

"What's obvious?" Tyler asked as he joined them.

"Charity has a thing for your boy, Derek." Lauren informed him. She frowned as his expression darkened for just a moment. Lila had said that Charity was going after Tyler, which she had denied. Lauren never considered that maybe it was the other way around.


	30. 3 can keep a secret

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton's mind was reeling. She had no idea that Lucas would be chaperoning. Her freaked out reaction earlier in the parking lot had bought her some time, but she was sure that it wouldn't be enough. She was on the girls' bus, while Luke and Jake opted to ride with the basketball team. She was praying that Lucas had the presence of mind to realize that she hadn't broken things off with Jake yet.

"Mom, we're here!" Lauren called over her shoulder as the girls exited the bus. Peyton quickly got her things together and climbed off the bus. She hurried over to where Principal Adams and the coaches were standing. She was given the squad's room assignments and read over them quickly. She noted wryly that they were alphabetical, with Sawyer and Scott sharing a room. She went to the counter and retrieved the room keys for the squad and called them over and gave out their room assignments.

"Alright everyone, lets get to your rooms and get changed for the game tonight. You have 15 minutes till the Welcome assembly and we play first, so there won't be time afterwards." Coach Martin called out as she hurried the girls to the elevators. Peyton hung back, looking for Lucas. She saw him and Jake walk in, laughing together. She hoped that was a good sign, and headed towards them.

"Hey guys, good trip?" She asked, as she walked up to them.

"Oh yeah, bought back memories. I had to restrain Lucas though, thought he was going to knock some heads." Jake said with a chuckle.

"What for?" Peyton asked in confusion.

"Oh typical teenage boy stuff. They didn't realize he was Lauren and Charity's dad." Jake replied vaguely. Peyton nodded with a smile. She could only imagine what the boys had been saying.

"Well they know now don't they?" Lucas asked jokingly. Jake nodded, grinning.

"Well, I'm going to take this stuff upstairs. I'll meet you guys by the doors in twenty, ok?" Jake asked. He waited for them both to nod before taking off. Peyton watched him until he disappeared in the crowd before turning back to Lucas.

"So what was the deal in the parking lot earlier? You looked like you had seen a ghost." Lucas asked her curiously.

"I didn't know you were coming. I haven't really told Jake about us yet. I told him that I needed some space to sort things out, but I didn't tell him about you. I wanted to wait till after this weekend." Peyton explained slowly. She hoped Lucas wouldn't be too mad at her.

"So what, I'm supposed to play along and watch you guys be all over each other for two days? Thanks Peyton." Lucas snapped. Peyton rubbed her forehead, tiredly. This was exactly what she had been afraid of.

"No, Lucas. It won't be like that. I just thought that we could all hang out as friends before Jake ends up hating us." Peyton replied, shaking her head. Lucas sighed, glancing around the room. Peyton felt like she had disappointed him.

"Fine. You are going to tell him though, right?" Lucas asked her, his eyes drilling into hers.

"Yes Lucas. I will tell him, I promise." Peyton replied softly, leaning towards him. She softly brushed her lips against his. Lucas quickly pulled away, searching the room.

"We can't do that Peyton. What if Jake were to see us? I hate all this sneaking around." Lucas sighed. Peyton rolled her eyes. This conversation felt oddly familiar. It seemed like they were always sneaking around.

"Fine. I'll meet you back here in ten minutes." Peyton replied shortly, leaving Lucas standing by himself. Peyton fumed all the way up to her room. Honestly, what did he expect? Brooke was half-way around the world. He didn't have to see her everyday, see the hurt on her face every time he looked at her. If she had told Jake, this weekend would have been miserable. Why didn't he see that she was doing what was best for everyone? He was being selfish and it was irritating Peyton to no end.

She thought about skipping the game, but she didn't want to disappoint Lauren. So she quickly ran a brush through her hair, changed her shirt and headed back down to the lobby. Most of the squad was already in the lobby. Peyton quickly spotted Lauren and headed her way.

"Good luck tonight. I hope you guys have a great game." Peyton told her, giving her a quick hug.

"Thanks mom. I'm glad you're coming to watch us." Lauren replied, smiling.

"Okay ladies, it's quite a hike to the gym, lets get moving." Coach Martin said, hustling the girls out of the hotel.

"Yeah lady, lets get moving." Jake joked, coming up behind Peyton. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. Peyton smiled as he turned her around. He was leaning in to kiss her when she noticed Lucas walking towards them. She quickly darted around Jake, who looked at her questioningly.

"Hey Luke, ready to go?" She asked brightly, hoping he hadn't seen her and Jake.

"Oh yeah, beyond ready." Lucas replied coldly, giving her a pointed look. Peyton fought the urge to storm off. Forcing herself to smile, she followed Lucas and Jake out of the hotel. She had a feeling that this was going to be a long weekend.


	31. True feelings

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

"Go! Fight! Win! Go Ravens!" Charity cheered as the Ravens beat Bear Creek, 67-54. She was glad the game was over. Some of the other girls had told her about their plan to go to a dance club nearby that was easy to sneak into. She planned to invite Derek and spend some time with him tonight.

"Are you coming Charity?" Lauren asked as the rest of squad headed for the locker rooms. Charity hesitated before answering. She was hoping to walk back to the hotel with Derek. She glanced over and saw he was still in a huddle with his coach and team mates.

"I'll be there in a minute." She told Lauren, sitting down on the bleachers to wait. A few minutes later the coach dismissed Derek and his team mates. She smiled as some of the members of his team nudged each other, glancing at her, as he made his way over to her. It made her feel good that other guys were jealous of him because of her.

"Good game." He said appreciatively as he grabbed her pom-pom's for her.

"You too. You play well." She complimented him. He had scored the majority of Bear Creek's points that night.,

"If you want to wait for me, I'll walk you back?" He offered as they stopped at the locker room doors. She nodded with a smile and blew him a kiss before he disappeared through the doors.

"So, big night with Derek?" Lauren asked nonchalantly as Charity slipped in beside her to get to her locker.

"I hope so." She replied with a shrug. She was fighting to keep the grin off of her face.

"That would be a yes!" Lauren laughed as a big cheesy grin appeared on Charity's face. Charity slapped her playfully.

"What are you and Tyler doing?" Charity asked, pulling on her shoes. She glanced up just in time to see the dark look that came over Lauren's face for a moment.

"I don't know. Probably going out with you guys." Lauren said unenthusiastically. Charity just nodded. She didn't want to push Lauren. She didn't know what was going on between her and Tyler, and as long as it didn't concern her, she was fine with that.

"I'm supposed to wait for Derek, want to wait with me?" She asked. Lauren shook her head.

"Nah, I'm going to head back with Jenny. I'm sure Tyler's already gone anyway." She said, waving bye to Charity over her shoulder as she met up with Jenny at the door.

"Looks like I overestimated you Charity. There's trouble in paradise and I didn't even need you to cause it." Lila smirked, calling out across the room.

"That's right Lila, you didn't need me. So I guess that means you can ruin someone else's life now." Charity replied sarcastically.

"But ruining yours is so much fun." Lila replied softly. Charity rolled her eyes and headed out into the hall to find Derek. She smiled when she saw him and Tyler leaning against the wall, talking.

"You don't mind if Tyler walks with us, do you?" Derek asked her as she walked up. She did, but she shook her head no. She had hoped for some time alone with him. She really wanted to get to know him better and that was hard to do, considering they hadn't spent much time together.

"Is something going on with Lauren? She's being really distant with me." Tyler asked after they had walked for awhile in silence. She knew there had to be a reason he'd wanted to walk back with them. Apparently it was to grill her for information about Lauren. At least this time she wouldn't have to lie when she denied involvement.

"I have no idea. I've noticed it too, but I don't know what's up. Maybe ask Jenny?" She advised him. He quickly shook his head.

"No way. Those two are so inseparable they're practically the same person. Asking Jen would be like asking Lauren. Obviously if I wanted her to know I was curious, I'd just ask her." He replied. She shrugged her shoulders. She was sorry they were having problems. Wasn't she?

"So, do you want to go to this club down the road? A bunch of the team's going." Derek asked her before she had time to follow her previous line of thought.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go." She laughed. She was mildly surprised when Derek reached down and grabbed her hand. She'd never really done the whole hand holding thing. Her relationships with guys had always been a bit more physical than sweet and romantic. This was nice though.

When they got back to the hotel she found her dad and told him she was heading to bed. He seemed lost in thought himself and only nodded. Lauren was gone by them time she got to their room, so she changed quickly and snuck down the stairs and met up with the group. They snuck around the hotel in small groups and hurried down the sidewalk. Someone had slipped the bouncer some cash and they did get in easily.

A couple of the kids had fake id's and bought alcohol for the group. She danced with Derek and with some girls on the squad. Before she knew it she was pretty wasted. She looked around for Lauren and Tyler, but didn't see them. Some of the kids had already gone back.

"Are you ready to go?" Derek asked her around 1am.

"Yeah, just let me go to the bathroom first." She replied, slurring her words slightly. She stumbled on the way to bathroom. As she closed the door behind her, she sank down to sit on the ground. The bathroom had started spinning and she knew that was a bad sign. She heard a toilet flush and looked up to see Lila shaking her head at her.

"C'mon, I'll tell lover boy to go on. You don't want him to see you like this." Lila said, helping her to the toilet. She heard Lila tell Derek to go on, that she would walk back with Charity. Charity was surprised that Lila was helping her, given their history, but she was too drunk to care, really.

"Alright you, lets get you back to your room. I hope you sleep this off before we compete." Lila said, throwing her arm around Charity for support. Charity giggled, hugging Lila.

"You're my bestest friend, aren't you?" She asked Lila. Lila rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, we're tight." She replied sarcastically.

"Do you know where my room is?" Charity asked her worriedly as the returned to the their hotel.

"Oh yeah, I know exactly where you're going." Lila replied, smirking. Charity felt like she was going to throw up in the elevator, but luckily the ride was short. Lila opened up a door.

"Here's your room Charity, go to bed." She said, holding the door open for her.

"Thanks Lila!" Charity exclaimed with a giggle. She slowly got undressed and went to her bed, but there was someone in it.

"Who are you?" She poked the sleeping person in her bed. She was startled to realize that Tyler was sleeping in her bed.

"Tyler? Why are you in my bed?" She whispered loudly.

"Charity?" Tyler asked her in confusion.

"Yep! That's me. I'm Charity! Hey, that rhymed!" She giggled, clapping her hands.

"You're drunk. How did you get in my room?" Tyler asked her, sitting up beside her. His eyes grew wide as he realized she was only in her underwear.

"You need to put your clothes on now!" He nearly yelled at her, pushing her away from him. Charity stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"You need to stop being so bossy, mister. Besides, I think you like me like this." She said seductively. She slowly walked towards him. She stopped just before they were touching.

"You do like me, don't you?" She whispered. She noticed he was breathing hard.

"Charity." He groaned, backing away from her. She was about to give up and put her clothes on when suddenly his lips crashed into hers. They fell back on his bed. He straddled her and pulled his shirt up over his head. She ran her hands up his chest and pulled him back to her. He was pulling his pants off when the door swung open.

"What, Lila? What is so important that you had to wake me up and drag me to Tyler's room…" Lauren trailed off as she took in the scene before her. Her half-naked boyfriend and sister, in bed together.


	32. The truth comes out

-1**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I'm in the middle of working 9 days without a day off and I haven't had enough time to so much as look at the computer. Sorry!!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

The walk to the gym had been strained at best. Lucas wouldn't talk to her and Jake was definitely realizing that something was up between the two of them. Peyton would have to say that things had taken a turn for the worse this weekend. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before Jake questioned her about Lucas and she didn't have the heart to tell him the truth, but she couldn't keep lying to him either. She had backed herself into a corner and she didn't see an easy way out this time.

Peyton had been thankful they were at a basketball tournament. Lucas and Jake had cheered loudly and discussed the plays, leaving her to her own thoughts. She had analyzed their predicament from every angle. During half-time she'd taken a break from her thoughts and enjoyed watching Lauren cheer.

She had taken off just before the fourth quarter started. She wanted to walk back alone. She had decided that the only way to avoid further confrontation this weekend was to make herself scarce. Peyton planned to hide out in her room as much as possible. She changed into her pajamas when she got back to her room and was sitting on her bed, flipping channels, when she heard someone knocking on her door. She glanced at her watch, but it was too early for Lauren to be back from the game. She opened the door slightly and was surprised to see Jake standing in the hallway.

"What are you doing back so soon?" She asked as he came into the room. She shut the door behind him, wishing she could run out of it and away from the conversation that was sure to come.

"I noticed you never came back from the restroom and I got worried. I decided you probably came back to the hotel, so I thought I should come and check on you." Jake explained, sitting down on the edge of her bed. He motioned for her to join him, but she was too nervous to stop pacing.

"I'm not blind or stupid Peyton. It's pretty obvious that something is up between you and Lucas. What's going on Peyton?" Jake asked her bluntly. She was taken aback by the abruptness of his question. She knew he wasn't blind nor stupid, but she had hoped he would somehow be oblivious to the situation. She let out a long breath before trying to formulate a response.

"I haven't been very honest lately, with anyone. I really didn't want to have this conversation with you, Jake. I do love you, I want you to know that." Peyton began shakily. She took a deep breath before she wrecked Jake's world.

"Lucas and I slept together last weekend. We didn't go out to discuss Lauren, we went out on a date. There is a part of me that would love nothing more than to marry you and raise our children, but that's the part of me that's scared. I've always known that part of my heart was with Lucas. I thought that I would get over him with time, but when he came back, my feelings for him were too strong for me to ignore. I really am sorry, Jake" Peyton said quietly, feeling relieved that the truth was now out.

She stole a quick glance at Jake as she continued to pace. The pain and astonishment was painted on his face for the world to see. The hurt in his eyes reduced her to tears. She had never wanted to hurt him. She truly did love him, which made this hurt all that much more.

"Jake?" She whispered, in tears. She wanted him to rage at her, tell her he hated her, something. She deserved that much. His silence was nearly unbearable.

Without a word he slowly got up and left the room. The slam of the door behind him shook her. She collapsed on the floor, sobbing. She hated herself enough for the both of them right now.


	33. There'll be no rest for these tired eyes

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters.

Lauren turned on her heel and ran down the hallway. She could hear Lila's laughter ringing above Charity and Tyler's call to her. The hallway began to blur as her tears fell. She knew, when Lila knocked on her door, something wasn't right, but she had never considered that Charity and Tyler would be nearly sleeping together.

She knocked on the door that she thought was her mothers. She hoped it was, she didn't need anyone else to see her like this.

"Lauren?" Her mother asked as she pulled Lauren into her room. Lauren fell into her arms, sobbing. She hated being overly emotional. She knew that she was overreacting, she hadn't even been dating Tyler very long and even though Charity was her sister, it wasn't like they even knew each other.

After a few minutes, Lauren finally got her emotions under control enough to spill the story to her mom. Wiping her eyes, she noticed that her mother had been crying at some point this evening as well. She had the tell-tale red eyes that Lauren now sported as well. She knew better than to ask though. If it were possible, her mother was even more a private person than Lauren.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. Could this just be another one of Lila's stunts?" Peyton asked her. Lauren paused to consider this. It would be like Lila to set something like this up, but she would never have gotten Charity and Tyler to go along with it. Neither of them would have done that to her. Except they did.

It could still be Lila's handiwork. Lauren would love to be able to blame Lila for this, but that didn't explain the passion she had seen in their eyes. No, Lauren knew that as much as she wanted to believe that Charity had taken advantage of Tyler, she couldn't. He had been looking at Charity in a way he had never looked at Lauren.

"No. Well, I mean obviously some of it is. She is the one who made sure I knew." Lauren began bitterly.

"You didn't see them though, mom. They wanted each other. Tyler wanted Charity and she sure as hell wanted him. The sad thing is that it's so obvious that they belong together, to everyone, but them. Hell, I even feel bad for standing in their way!" She finished ironically. Lauren threw up her hands in frustration. As much as she wanted her mother right then, this was not resolving the situation. Shaking her head, she hopped off the bed and steeled herself for the conversations to come.

She had just closed her mother's door behind her when she saw Charity walking, no stumbling, down the hallway toward her. Lauren groaned as she realized that Charity was completely wasted.

"Lauren! I'm so sorry! I don't know how I got in Tyler's room. Lila was supposed to take me to our room." Charity called loudly down the hallway. Lauren sighed. At least she didn't have to worry about a fight with Charity ruining their chances during the competition. She couldn't hold tonight against her, not as drunk as she was, and not if Lila had purposefully put her in Tyler's room.

"It's okay Charity. I'll help you get to bed." She sighed, grabbing her elbow and steering her down the hall to their room.

"Derek is going to hate me, you hate me. I'm never drinking again!" Charity swore as they got to their room.

"I don't hate you Charity. You're drunk, you didn't mean to end up in Tyler's room. Lila was a being a bitch. It's not your fault." Lauren said tiredly. This evening was just getting to be too much for her.

"It is my fault. Tyler told me to put my clothes on and leave the room, but no I couldn't listen, could I?" Charity asked rhetorically. Lauren rolled her eyes, she doubted f Charity would even remember this conversation in the morning.

She got Charity laid down in bed. She was snoring before Lauren even left the room. The walk back down to Tyler's room did not take as long as she had hoped. She knocked softly, hoping he was asleep already, but he opened the door immediately.

"Hey." He greeted her softly as she walked into the room.

"I'm so sorry Lau-" Tyler began, before Lauren cut him off.

"No you aren't. Well, you may be sorry you hurt me, but you aren't sorry for Charity. I know you have feelings for her, I see the way you look at her, it's not the way you look at me. I just want you to know that she really like's Derek. Please don't be selfish and ruin it for her." Lauren sighed, keeping the emotions she felt from reaching her voice.

"So we're done?" Tyler asked quietly. She could see the hurt and regret in his eyes, but she could also see the hope, so she only nodded before leaving his room.


	34. Hitting rock bottom

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Charity slowly tied her shoes, trying very carefully to keep her head as steady as possible. Her condition did not bode well for the competition later today, let alone cheering for the team. How was she supposed to be tossed around when any movement made her feel like running to the bathroom?

"Why do I do this to myself?" She groaned as she fell back on the bed. She instantly regretted the quick movement.

"Not feeling so hot?" Lauren asked as she came out of bathroom and joined Charity on the bed.

"You could say that again. Lauren, I really am sorry about last night. I don't know what came over me. Well other than vodka, obviously." Charity apologized for the umpteenth time so far this morning.

"Its going to be fine. I'm more disappointed in Tyler than anything. Well, I am pretty pissed at Lila. It is going to feel so good when I kick her ass off the squad later." Lauren grinned evilly. Charity laughed in agreement. She actually felt a little sorry for Lila, being on the receiving end of Lauren's wrath.

"Let's go, the game starts in twenty minutes." Lauren said, dragging Charity out the door.

"Hey Lauren, you don't think Tyler will say anything to Derek do you?" She asked Lauren carefully as they walked to the gym. She watched as Lauren sighed heavily before responding.

"No, I don't, but Lila will. Look Charity, if you really like him you have to be honest with him. He deserves that, and if he really likes you, yeah he might be pissed, but I bet he'll be willing to give you a second chance." Lauren told her. Charity knew that Lauren was right.

"Alright. I'm gonna go ahead and try to find Derek before Lila does." Charity replied, as she took off, running towards the gym.

She scanned the growing crowd as she dashed up the steps, flashed her school ID at the window and headed inside.

She surveyed the people sitting in the bleachers. She saw his teammates sitting a few rows behind the Raven's bench. She made her way over, but she didn't see Derek. Impatiently, she tapped one of the boys on the shoulder.

"Can I help you?" He asked her curiously.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Derek, have you seen him?" She asked quickly.

"Yeah, but I think you're too late. Looks like that fine blonde over there already has him pretty preoccupied." He replied, laughing, as he pointed across the gym.

Charity followed his line of sight, her stomach sinking, knowing what she would see. Lila was talking quickly with a concerned look on her face. Derek was shaking his head and he did not look happy. Suddenly he glanced over and met her eyes. He shoved past Lila and stormed over to her.

"Charity, what the hell is going on? Some girl on your squad is telling me that you and Tyler slept together last night. Tell me she's just starting drama, please." Derek pleaded with her, his eyes flashing in anger.

"We didn't sleep together, I promise. But, um, we did do some stuff that I'm not proud of. You know I was really drunk last night and Lila is a bitch and she told me that his room was mine, and so I got undressed for bed and then he kissed me and we were kissing and Lauren came in and it was horrible and I'm so so sorry!" Charity explained quickly. She didn't even know if what she had said made any sense but once she started she just had to get out quickly before she lost her nerve.

"Cool, well I guess I'll be seeing you around then." Derek said coldly as he brushed past her to join his teammates, who had heard everything. She slowly walked back to the locker room, trying to ignore the dirty looks and comments his friends were making. She felt too defeated to even cry. In the last month everything in her world had been turned upside down and inside out. It was too much for a girl to handle all by herself.

"You look like you could use a friend."

Charity slowly drug her eyes up from the ground, seeing the last person she expected to see and the person she needed most just then. Her mother.


	35. Headstrong

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Brooke felt like a ship tethered to a harbor in a growing storm. She felt as if she had been beaten from every angle. She was worried about Charity. She looked so completely different from the happy vivacious girl that Brooke had left just two weeks ago. She was mad as hell at Lucas for not realizing that Charity was hurting and needed someone. He was probably too busy with Peyton to notice anyone else. That thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Charity finally responded.

"This competition is important to you, I'd never miss it." Brooke responded, hugging Charity tightly.

"Everything is so messed up mom. I really messed up and I don't know how to fix it, or even if I can." Charity sobbed into her mother's shoulder.

"Sweetie, I'm sure everything will work out. I'm here now. We'll talk after the game and figure everything out, okay?" Brooke promised, stroking Charity's hair.

Charity nodded and wiped her eyes. She gave Brooke a weak smile before joining her squad on the floor.

Brooke glanced around for any signs of Lucas. She was spotted Jake Jagelski walking through the doors. She knew his daughter cheered on the squad, but she hadn't expected to see him here.

"Hey Jake! How have you been? You haven't by chance seen Lucas this weekend have you?" Brooke asked, smiling at her old friend. She was surprised to see him stiffen at the mention of Lucas.

"I've seen and heard more about him than I cared to, actually." Jake replied bitterly. Brooke shook her head in confusion.

"Peyton dumped me for him. We were engaged and planning our wedding." He explained angrily. Brooke's fury at Peyton rose to an unprecedented degree. Jake had always been devoted to Peyton, and for her to throw away everything they had, just to steal Brooke's husband put her on a whole new level of skank, in Brooke's book.

"I am so sorry Jake. I know how you must be feeling." Brooke replied ironically. She usually hated when people said that to her, but this time she actually did know how he felt. Jake nodded sadly.

"That's right. I forgot that Lucas told me that he was divorcing you. For Peyton, I assume?" Jake asked.

"Apparently. I've always just been the back up plan." Brooke said, her voice full of pain.

"Brooke?" She heard Lucas ask in surprise. She turned and saw him making his way over to them. Jake squeezed her hand before he hurried off. Apparently he wasn't in the mood for a showdown with Lucas today. The good news was that Brooke certainly was.

"Well, if it isn't my cheating dog of a husband. Where's your bitch?" She turned, squaring off with Lucas.

"Put some ice on it, Brooke. We'll talk about it when we get home. What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be back until next weekend." Lucas said, trying to diffuse her anger.

"It might come as a shock to you, but I came to see Charity compete. And it's a damn good thing I did. Have you even seen our daughter Lucas? She needed you and you were too busy shacking up your skanky home-wrecker to notice!" Brooke yelled angrily.

"What's wrong with Charity?" Lucas asked worriedly, glancing over to where the squad was standing. Charity was sitting on the floor, leaning her head onto Lauren's shoulder. Lauren was whispering to her and stroking her hair, much as Brooke had done earlier.

"I don't know. I just got her. You, however; have no excuse. You've been here with her all weekend." Brooke replied through clenched teeth.

"Brooke, I'm sorry okay. I've just been so preoccupied, with everything going on." Lucas explained, running his hands through his hair.

"Peyton." Brooke stated, rolling her eyes and glancing around the room. She couldn't look at him just then.

"No Brooke. Everything is not always about Peyton!" Lucas yelled. He softly cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.

"I'm sorry Brooke. I messed up with Charity this weekend. There is no excuse for that. I'll fix it, okay?" He said softly. Brooke nodded.

She hurried past him, into the hallway. She sank down against the wall. The two weeks she spent in Paris had been good for her. She had gained some clarity, being separated from the situation. She realized that Lucas was right. She had been fighting for a relationship that hadn't existed in years. She didn't know if she was willing to give up that fight though. And she sure as hell wasn't ready to hand Lucas to Peyton on a silver platter.


	36. Less than me

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!!

Charity had never cheered so poorly in her life. She had also never cheered right in front of someone who hated her with good reason. Derek had apparently made it his goal to drill holes into her with his eyes during the game. His cold, unforgiving stare made her want to run off the court, but she couldn't do that. So she tried to avoid looking at him by keeping her head down. No one had ever told her that trying to cheer while staring at the floor was so difficult. She tripped no less than three times during the first half.

She knew she was only torturing herself further when she decided to try to talk to Derek again during halftime. She knew this with every fiber of her being, yet she did it anyway. Charity wound her way around the people who were pouring out of the gym, trying to find him. She thought she had spotted him by the concessions stand when she bumped into someone, hard.

"I'm so sorry!" Charity exclaimed, picking herself up off the ground before she got trampled. The boy she had ran over turned around slowly. It wasn't just any boy, it was Tyler. Charity felt her throat knot up. She hadn't spoken to him since she staggered out of his room the night before. She wanted to say so many things to him, but nothing that her brain was saying was coming out of her mouth.

"Charity, are you okay?" He asked, steering her over to a less populated area. She only nodded, not trusting her voice.

"I guess we need to talk about last night huh?" He asked with a small smile. Charity gave him a half-hearted smile in return, still glancing around for Derek.

"It was all my fault Tyler. You told me to leave, I didn't, simple as that." Charity shrugged in an attempt to downplay the evening.

"It was more than that and you know it. I know you felt the same things I did. Ever since you came here, my life has been one roller coaster ride after another. I thought that I knew what I wanted. I thought I wanted Lauren, but then I met you. You make me feel things I've never felt before, Charity. I want to know if you feel the same?" Tyler asked softly, begging her to say yes, with his eyes.

Charity felt like she was sinking into a sea of mixed emotions. Since day one she'd had a thing for Tyler, but he'd been taken. She thought about the many times she'd wished that he would dump Lauren for her. Then she met Derek. It was different with him. He genuinely liked her. He was one of the only guys she'd ever encountered who didn't just want her for sex, and she liked that. She had been sure that Tyler was the same way until last night. Then he had acted just like every other guy she'd dated. She did have to give him points for his little speech today though. Her prior experiences had taught her that not many guys stuck around the next day. She sighed, knowing that Tyler was waiting for an answer that she wasn't sure she could give. She took one last glance around the room and her eyes locked with Derek's. He was standing across the room, making no attempt to disguise the fact that he was watching them. Tyler followed her gaze.

"Derek. I should have known. Lauren warned me and I didn't listen." Tyler said as he shook his head.

"Lauren warned you about what?" Charity replied suspiciously. She thought that Lauren was on her side.

"Last night when Lauren dumped me, she told me she knew that I had feelings for you. She also told me you were all about Derek but I didn't listen." Tyler replied, glancing over at Derek again.

"Not that it matters anymore, anyway. He hates me. Lila told him about us last night and well, he was pretty pissed." Charity said dully.

"He doesn't hate you Charity. He's just disappointed. He dated his last girlfriend for something like three years and when they broke up he found out she'd been cheating on him with his older brother for the majority of their relationship. He doesn't tolerate any hint of cheating well." Tyler explained.

"So it's pretty hopeless for him and I then, huh?" She asked, already knowing it was.

"Maybe not. Give him some time, he might come around. He really likes you." Tyler said slowly.

"What if I don't want to wait for him?" She asked softly, smiling up at him. Tyler raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure I know what I want." She said with a smile, wrapping her arms around him.

"Are you saying you do have feeling for me?" Tyler asked in surprise. Charity threw one last glance toward Derek before replying.

"Looks like I am." She whispered, before kissing him softly. Before Charity knew what was happening, she felt herself being flung backwards. She stumbled, barely saving herself from hitting the floor for the second time today. She looked up to see Derek throw a punch at Tyler.

"Derek, stop!" Charity screamed. She rushed forward to try and pull Derek back, but Lauren and Jenny were holding her back before she'd taken two steps.

"Let me go, what are you doing?" Charity exclaimed, trying to shake free of the girls' grasps.

"Are you insane? Those guys are huge and you seriously thought your puny little ass was going to break them up?" Jenny asked her, incredulously. Charity realized that Jenny had a point, as the security guards finally got Derek and Tyler pulled apart. The medics helped Tyler into the locker room.

"What were you thinking, Derek?" Charity asked softly, pulling free from Lauren and Jenny.

"I don't know. You really hurt me Charity, and I promised myself I wouldn't let that happen again. I was looking for you, to tell you that I messed up and I found you kissing Tyler." Derek replied bitterly.

Charity was tired of being the butt of fate's jokes.


	37. Worth it

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

As Peyton made her way into the arena, she spotted Lauren, with Charity and Jenny, and waved. She turned down the hallway leading to the gym and saw Brooke sitting on the floor sobbing. Peyton quickly turned back, hoping to get away before Brooke saw her. She headed straight outside. As the sun hit her she was sure she'd escaped unnoticed. She turned back towards the gym and saw a furious Brooke storming towards her.

"Brooke." Peyton greeted her neutrally. She'd been friends with Brooke Davis long enough to know not to pretend everything was cool between them when it wasn't.

"I don't even know what to say to you, Peyton." Brooke said, as she walked up to Peyton. Peyton sighed and shrugged, not meeting Brooke's eyes.

"All I know is that there is a man in there who adores you and who's heart is crushed because all he wants is to spend the rest of his life with you and all you want is to destroy everyone's lives in some twisted replay of high school." Brooke said bluntly.

"It's not like that Brooke. I love Lucas. I've always loved Lucas, I've just always been a day late and a dollar short. I messed up in high school, a lot, okay? We all did. Now we're trying to make things right, the way they should have been, if I hadn't been so damn stubborn!" Peyton exclaimed, defensively. She hated fighting with Brooke, she was really good at making Peyton feel like an ass.

"Well Peyton, you had your chance with Lucas. You dumped him, remember? You don't get second chances. You don't get do-overs. You messed up, you live with it and leave us the hell alone." Brooke seethed quietly.

"Well I would, but do you really think Lucas would leave me alone?" Peyton replied, her voice dripping in disdain. It took Peyton a second to register the sound of the slap with the stinging of her cheek. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as her eyes started tearing up, partly in pain and partly because she knew she was being a bitch and Brooke didn't deserve that.

"I'm done with you Peyton. I don't even know why we were friends in the first place. Make no mistake though, we aren't anymore and we never will be again. Stay the hell away from Lucas!" Brooke lashed out, her eyes flashing in anger. Brooke turned and stalked back towards the hotel.

Peyton put her hand up to her stinging cheek. She knew that when she and Lucas decided to be together that it would be a fight. She didn't think she had realized how big a fight it would actually be and how many relationships would be lost and ruined because of it. She remembered how hurt Jake had looked the past evening and the pain in Brooke's eyes just then. She was having second thoughts, second and third and fourth. Why did being happy have to come at such a high cost? She needed to talk to Lucas. She needed to know that they were in this together. She dug through her purse for her cell and punched in Lucas's cell number. Speaking quickly she told him that she needed to see him and he agreed to meet her in the lobby of the hotel shortly.

The walk back to the hotel was both too long and too short for Peyton. She wanted to be with Lucas so much that her heart ached at the thought of him, but at the same time, she was scared. She was scared that he would tell her that it was all too hard or that he wanted to be with Brooke.

"Peyton, is everything okay?" Lucas asked, rushing over to her, as she walked into the hotel. His worry over her brought a smile to her face. Hopefully he would tell her what she needed to hear.

"No, not really. I ran into Brooke. She's beyond furious at me, and rightfully so. I just, I need to know that all the hurt we're causing is worth it. I'm just so scared that we're destroying everyone we care about and what if we aren't even together, even a few years down the road. I can't imagine my life without you in it again." Peyton said quietly, trying to give words to the things she was feeling. To Lucas's credit he smiled and pulled her too him.

"It's worth it, Peyton. You're worth it." Was all he said in response, but it was enough for Peyton. She knew that he was enough for her. She only hoped that she would always be enough for him. Their history was too tumultuous for her to be certain about that.


	38. Nothing but faith in nothing

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!!

**A/N I reworked an old story of mine. It's called Back to good, I'd love it if you'd check it out. Reviews are always welcome as well! J**

Peyton clung to Lucas, she had hoped his words would settle some of the doubt that had been creeping in, but they hadn't.

"Are you okay? What's wrong, Peyton?" Lucas asked worriedly, pulling her away so that he could see her face.

She nodded quickly, attempting to smile. She couldn't even put words to her feelings right now.

"I'm fine, just tired, I guess. I'm going to go and take a nap before the girls compete." She said brightly, faking another smile. Lucas raised his eyebrows at her, but simply nodded. She hurried to the elevator before he decided to press the issue. When she reached her door she was surprised to see Jake standing there.

"Jake?" She asked in confusion. She was certain that he was never going to speak to her again after their last conversation.

"Can we talk?" He asked as she unlocked her door. She nodded and motioned for him to come in with her.

Peyton sat nervously on the bed, watching Jake pace. She was more nervous to hear what he had to say then she was when she told him about her and Lucas.

"I want more than anything to hate you right now, Peyton. It would make this so much easier. I can't help but love you Peyton. For as long as I can remember, I've loved you. Even when we weren't together, I still loved you. I just need to know if at some point, during all these years, if you ever really loved me?" Jake asked bitterly, continuing to pace the floor. Peyton wanted, more than anything, to say something to comfort him, but she couldn't.

"Of course I did Jake. I've loved you in some capacity, since high school. You have to believe that!" Peyton cried out in frustration. She was angry at herself for causing Jake so much pain, and she was angry with Lucas for being the cause of her stupidity. She had become the kind of person she'd always detested. She'd given up all hope of any relationship with Jake or with Brooke, she was sure she'd hurt Jenny, although Jen would never to admit it, all for the love of someone she hadn't known since high school.

"I don't know if I can believe you, but I want to." Jake said slowly, turning to look at Peyton. She couldn't stop herself as she threw herself into his arms. For a moment, Jake returned her hug before he pulled her arms down from around his neck. He shook his head sadly.

"No, Peyton. You made your choice already. You made that pretty clear to me. I don't want your pity." Jake said harshly. He brushed passed her and walked out of her room. Peyton stifled the urge to run after him.

Peyton wished that she could go back in time and change her actions over the past few months. She didn't even recognize herself anymore. She had always been proud of the person that she was. She didn't feel that pride anymore. Instead she felt sadness and most of all, guilt. She'd dealt with more than her fair share of guilt in high school. Peyton had also promised herself back then, that she would never do what she and Lucas had done to Brooke, again. And yet, here she was, 16 years later in the exact same predicament, dealing with the exact same feelings. She knew what she needed to do, and it would probably be even harder than it was 16 years ago.


	39. Told myself I won't miss you

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Lauren watched the exchange between Derek and Charity. She almost felt pity for the girl, almost. Worry consumed most of her thought. She had seen the hit that Tyler had taken. Before she had time to think about what she was doing, she flew off in the direction of the guys locker room. She crept in, hoping to get through unnoticed. She had made it all of two feet before hearing the indignant yells of the guys who were still in there changing. A blush rose in her cheeks, and she mumbled apologies as she tried to avert her eyes. She knew that she would laugh at herself later, but right now all she cared about was checking on Tyler. Finally she made her way to the coach's office. Slowly, she opened the door. Tyler was laying on a cot in the back, surrounded by coaches and trainers.

"Hey, you can't be in here!" One of the trainers said, finally noticing her. Lauren bit her lip, trying to formulate a good reason to be in here.

"Lauren?" Tyler croaked, sitting up on his elbows. He looked terrible. His left eye was swollen shut and he had dried blood caked to his lip.

"Yeah, it's me, how are you doing, killer?" She joked, coming to his side. She took the ice that someone had passed over and pressed it to his eye. Tyler groaned in pain and took the bag of ice from her.

"I've been better. Where's Charity?" He asked, glancing around the room. Lauren briefly entertained the idea of lying to him, but she valued his friendship too much for that.

"She's talking to Derek. I'm sure she's worried about you though." Lauren said gently. Tyler rolled his eyes and sank back down. Lauren suddenly realized that they were alone in the room. Everyone else had left already.

"Do you want to hang out in here for awhile or do you want to go back to the hotel?" She asked.

"I think I'll hang out here. I don't feel like running into Derek again and you guys compete soon, I can't miss that." He replied with a smile. Lauren nodded and headed for the door.

"Hey, Lauren, do you think you could hang out with me for a little bit?" He asked shyly as she turned the doorknob. She forced the grin from her face before she turned around.

"Yeah, sure." She said as she crossed the room and hopped up on the table beside him. She tried to ignore the effect that being this close to him had on her. She made herself picture him and Charity together. It wasn't helping. Her skin still tingled in memory of his touches and caresses. She tried to slow her rapid breathing.

"So, are you guys ready for today?" Tyler asked, turning to face her. She nodded with a small smile. Quickly she hopped up from the cot and paced around the room. She couldn't think when he was that close to her. He might be able to turn his feelings for her on and off, but she couldn't do that.

"Yeah, I think so." She finally answered as she got her bearings again.

"You know, I think I'm going to go and make sure everyone is ready." She said, giving a lame excuse to get away from Tyler.

"Okay, well I'll definitely be there. Tell Charity--" She heard him begin to say. She didn't hear the rest because she had already bolted out the door. She wouldn't be his messenger, especially not to his new girlfriend. She exited the locker room and was thankful to see Charity and Derek were already gone. Jen was standing up against the wall waiting for her.

"What was that all about?" Jenny asked, arching an eyebrow at Lauren. Lauren half wished that she was a better liar.

"I just wanted to make sure Tyler was okay. Charity certainly didn't seem in any hurry to do so." She said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the bitterness from her voice.

"I thought you and Charity were cool about the whole Tyler thing? I mean, you told her you didn't blame her, right?" Jenny asked, pushing herself away from the wall and walking over to Lauren.

"Technically, but she never asked if it was cool with me if they dated! Okay, so I'm not a robot and I can't just push a button and get over Tyler. I've liked him for years!" Lauren exclaimed angrily.

"Why don't you just talk to her about it?" Jen asked reasonably. Lauren rolled her eyes. This situation was wrong on so many levels, it wasn't funny. Usually she was the calm, reasonable one talking Jenny down. She hated feeling this way.

"I can't okay. We have to compete first. I won't jeopardize our chances at winning over a guy, no matter what I feel for him. I don't want to talk about it anymore." She said stubbornly.

"Alright, well we have an hour till we compete. Why don't we go and round everyone up?" Jenny asked, glancing at her watch.

"Hey, here comes some of the girls now." Jenny said, pointing over Laurens shoulder. Lauren turned and smiled as about half her squad jogged up to them. Her smile dropped as she saw the angry looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" She asked as they neared.

"We've looked everywhere, we can't find Lila. All of her stuff is gone from our room and she's nowhere to be found." Bella explained, twirling her hair nervously. Lauren glanced around the group, waiting for someone to tell her it was all a joke. She needed it to be a joke, but when no one spoke up, Lauren knew that somewhere Lila was having the last laugh.


	40. Turn the tables with our unity

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

If you would have asked Brooke, even a day ago, if she thought that she and Peyton could ever be civil to each other again, the answer would have been no. Yet here she was, working with Peyton to come up with a routine that worked for the squad, since they were now one member short. Brooke paused momentarily, to try to pinpoint the exact moment she had realized that she was actually enjoying being with Peyton again.

_"Mom, we seriously need your help!" Charity had yelled, barging into Brooke's room. Brooke sat up quickly, trying to get her bearings, after being so rudely awakened. _

_"What's going on?" She yawned, watching Charity pace around the room. _

_"It's crazy mom. Lila ditched us. Can you believe that little hussy--sorry mom--had the nerve to just up and leave after everything she's done? When I find her sorry little a--"Charity rattled off angrily, stopping in mid-sentence and staring at Brooke sheepishly. _

_"I take it you're not a fan?" Brooke joked. _

_"Oh I forgot, you don't know what's going on. I'll just give you the short story version for now. So, you know how I was mad at Lauren at first, well I kinda did some stuff with Lila to hurt Lauren and then when I decided that I was being stupid, Lila threw a fit and started blackmailing me. So then I did something even more stupid and kissed Lauren's boyfriend, which was all Lila's fault, and then the little hussy had the nerve to tell the guy that I liked about it and now he hates me too!" Charity said exhaling loudly. _

_Brooke raised her eyebrow in curiosity. She wasn't dumb enough to believe that Charity was telling her the whole story but she didn't want to push. It wasn't so long ago that Charity didn't bother to tell her anything, let alone as much as she just had. _

_"Oh and Lila is, well was, on the squad. So now we can't compete because we're one girl short, unless…" Charity trailed off, smiling slyly. Brooke felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. _

_"Unless what?" She asked slowly, dreading the answer. _

_"Unless you and Peyton can help us rework the routine?" Charity asked softly. She had every right to be nervous. She was asking Brooke to work with the woman who was sleeping with Brooke's husband, not to mention her ex-best friend. Brooke fought the instinct to laugh in Charity's face. No way was she going anywhere near Peyton. _

_"I can't Charity. You have to understand. We have too much history and with everything going on with her and your dad, I just can't okay?" Brooke said, feeling horrible for letting her issues with Peyton come between her and her daughter, but this wasn't just a little disagreement she and Peyton were having, it was war. _

_"I figured you'd say that. It's just that Peyton volunteered to help but I know how good you are at choreography and I just thought we'd have a better chance if you could give us some pointers." Charity explained dejectedly. Brooke sighed, staring up the ceiling. She knew she was going to regret this. _

_"Fine, I'll help. Let me get changed. I'll meet you in the gym in twenty minutes. Have Lauren explain what's going on the judges and see if you guys can't go last? That might buy us enough time." Brooke said, quickly getting off the bed and rummaging through her suitcases for something suitable to practice in. _

_"Thank you so much!" Charity said, kissing her mother on her cheek before bolting out the door. Brooke smiled. She was glad that she had made Charity happy, even if she were making herself miserable. _

Except it hadn't been miserable. She and Peyton had gotten right to work, just like old times. It was as if the truce they had enacted so many years ago at the Classic was still in effect. They had bounced ideas off one another, laughing and joking all the while. Eventually they had come up with a routine that wasn't too different from the original and that was still as technically difficult.

Brooke nudged Peyton, smiling, as the girls nailed the routine for the second time in a row. Peyton grinned and they clapped excitedly for the girls.

"And now, from Tree Hill, North Carolina, The Tree Hill Ravens!" The announcer called over the loud speaker. The girls took a collective deep breath before heading out onto the mat.

Brooke squealed and grabbed Peyton's hand, squeezing it nervously. Brooke was more nervous watching then she had ever been performing.

"I can't watch!" Peyton said, closing her eyes.

"You have to, It'll be okay. They're good, they can do this." Brooke said optimistically. She didn't feel very optimistic though. They had only gone through the routine twice.

The music began and to Brooke's surprise the girls did remarkably well. There were a couple minor mistakes, but no falls and no one had gone out of bounds.

"They did it. They really did it!" Peyton said with an abundance of surprise. She and Brooke yelled and cheered loudly for the squad as they exited the mat. All that was left to do was to wait for the results. Now that she and Peyton didn't have a shared goal, the reality of their situation was beginning to settle back in. Peyton eyed Brooke nervously.

"Um, thanks for helping me today. It was really nice to pretend that we were friends again for a little while." Brooke said honestly. Peyton nodded, not meeting her eyes.

Brooke only wished that they really could be friends but there was just some things that couldn't be forgiven.


	41. Lead me through the fire

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Charity held her breath as the judges began announcing the winners. She knew they had done pretty well, all things considered.

"In Third place, The Warriors of Bear Creek!" The announcer called out. Shrieks and applause deafened Charity.

"And in Second Place The Ravens of Tree Hill!" She continued. Charity turned to Lauren with a huge grin.

"We didn't suck!" She yelled loudly. The rest of the squad burst out in laughter. Charity and Lauren were lost in a sea of hugs as the girls laughed and celebrated.

After receiving their trophy and posing for about a million photographs, Charity was finally able to break away. She had been scanning the crowds for Derek with no luck. After he had punched Tyler and admitted his true feelings, he'd taken off. Charity had tried to follow him, but she had lost him before she had even gotten out of the gym. She'd slowly wandered back to Lauren, only to find the rest of squad there as well. When Lauren had told her about Lila's latest disappearing act, Charity had been livid. Luckily she and Lauren had been able to convince their mothers to help them out.

"You guys did a great job." Tyler called out, jogging up to her. She winced as she saw how badly his eye was bruised and swollen.

"Thanks. How's your eye feeling?" She asked as they walked.

"It's definitely been better. I hope Coach doesn't bench me for fighting though." Tyler responded with a shrug. Charity nodded, hoping he didn't notice that she was only half listening.

"So, have you talked to Derek?" He asked, motioning her over to the bleachers. Tyler sat down and patted the seat beside him.

"Not really. I asked him why he hit you and he said that he was looking for me, to apologize, and well, I guess he didn't like what he saw." She explained dryly. Tyler watched her intently as she spoke. She wanted to turn away from his gaze but she was sure that would give him the wrong idea.

"If he had found you before I did, would you guys be together?" He asked her, leaning closer to her. Charity didn't know what to say. She couldn't deny the fact that she had been drawn to Tyler since she'd gotten here, but Derek, well, he was different. Charity didn't know what it was exactly that made him so different, but she found herself thinking about him all the time and when she wasn't with him, she wanted to be.

"I don't know. Probably." She replied weakly. She didn't want to hurt Tyler. She really liked him and if she'd never met Derek than she would have been ecstatic to be with Tyler. But she had met Derek and he was everything she wanted.

Tyler nodded, tearing his eyes away from her. Charity wanted to take back her words but it was too late.

"I'm sorry I messed things up for you guys. I should have listened to Lauren. Go find him. You guys belong together." Tyler said with a small smile, shooing her off. Charity raised her eyebrows, not believing what she was hearing.

"Go already, its cool." Tyler said in exasperation. Charity stood up and smiled at him. She held out her fist to him.

"Friends?" She asked with a grin. Tyler knocked his fist against hers.

"Friends." He agreed, nodding. Charity gave him one last smile before hurrying off to find Derek. She hoped that he would forgive her.

Most of the crowd had already thinned out. She found Lauren and Jenny chatting with Lauren's mom.

"Hey guys, have you seen Derek?" She asked them as she hurried over. Jenny shook her head, and Lauren looked at her quizzically.

"Does Tyler know you're looking for Derek?" Lauren asked with a hint of anger in her voice. Charity looked at her strangely. Since when did Lauren stick up for Tyler?

"Uh, yeah, he told me to. We're just friends." Charity replied slowly, wondering what was going on with Lauren. Lauren only nodded.

"No I haven't seen Derek. Where's Tyler?" She asked. Charity pointed to where Tyler was still sitting on the edge of the bleachers. Lauren hurried off in his direction.

Charity didn't have time to wonder what Lauren was doing. The buses would be leaving in less than an hour and Charity had to find Derek first. She quickly jogged out of the gym and before she had gone two feet, spotted Derek and his teammates leaving the building. Charity ran across the room, shoving past people, trying to catch up to them.

"Derek, wait!" She called as he was walking down the sidewalk, back to the hotel. She jogged through the grass, until she was in front of him. When he wouldn't answer her, she stood in the middle of the sidewalk, right in front of him, blocking his way.

"Derek, will you just stop for a minute, please?" She asked in exasperation. He was acting like he was five and it was frustrating her.

"Why should I wait for you? Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend?" He asked icily.

"Well, I suppose if I had one." She replied with a shrug. His eyes widened and he turned to his teammates, telling them that he would catch up.

"I thought you and Tyler were together now?" He asked, his green eyes drilling holes into her blue ones.

"When I couldn't find you, I ran into Tyler. He told me about your ex, so I assumed we had no future. So when Tyler told me that he liked me, I guess I just reacted. Then the next thing I knew you were trying to knock him out. Anyway, Tyler and I talked and we decided we were better off as friends." She explained.

"So the other night, it was just a mistake, right?" He asked carefully. Charity hesitated for just a second before replying.

"Right. It was just a bad combination of alcohol and jealous ex-girlfriends." She said lightly. She knew that it was more than that but she wasn't about to admit that to Derek when she was this close to getting him back.

"So do you think we could start over?" She asked hopefully. Her heart sunk when he began to shake his head.

"No, you can never really start over, but I do think we could move forward." He said with a sly grin. Charity let out the breath that she had been holding and jokingly punched him in the arm.

"You scared me to death!" She laughed, glad to see the familiar twinkle in his eye. Charity bit her lip as she watched him smile. She needed to be careful this time. She could already feel herself falling for him and she had been down that road once and it hadn't ended well. Charity remembered laying in the hospital bed after the wreck. No, it hadn't ended well at all.


	42. You don't even care

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Peyton paced nervously down the hallway. She'd gotten half-way to Lucas's door, fully intending to break things off with him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had turned back towards her door, only to realize that she did need to end things with him. She couldn't continue the downward spiral she had been trapped in since his arrival back in Tree Hill. She needed to take some time to get right with herself first. Her heart and her mind were saying two very different things. It was up to Peyton to decide which to follow. Slowly she crept towards Lucas's door. It was slightly ajar. Curiously she leaned closer, hoping to tell if he was in his room or not.

"Brooke, I am so sorry. If I could do it differently I would, you have to believe that. I know I've been selfish and there is no excuse for it. If you would please just give me another chance.." Lucas trailed off sadly. Peyton felt the tears running down her cheeks as she listened for a response from Brooke. She assumed he was on the phone, when she didn't hear a reply. Quietly she crept away from the door. When she was far enough down the hallway, she let out a sob.

This was exactly what she had feared most. That the present would be too much like the past. Lucas could never resist Brooke for long in high school and he couldn't now either. She had been back for all of 24 hours and he was falling back under her spell. Slowly the anger built in her. Within seconds, anger replaced the sadness she had felt at losing Lucas yet again. Suddenly she turned around, heading back towards Lucas's room. Without knocking, she barged in.

"Where the hell do you get off? Do you think its fun to toy with people? To ruin peoples lives just because you can?" Peyton yelled angrily. Lucas quickly mumbled something into his phone and hung up. Slowly he got up from the bed and came over to where she stood, fuming.

"What are you talking about Peyton? Who's life did I ruin?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"Do you want a list? Mine, Jake's, Lauren's. Why would you put us all through hell just to change to your mind?" She asked, the hurt evident in her voice.

"How have I changed my mind Peyton? I watched you kiss Jake, I tried to reassure you every time you've had doubts. Who's the one changing their mind here, because it's certainly not me!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Lucas Scott, I can not believe you are going to sit here and lie to my face. After all we've been through, I thought that you had more respect for me than that." Peyton said softly. She couldn't believe that he was actually denying the conversation that she had overheard.

"I've not lied to you, Peyton. I don't know what you're talking about, but I've never once lied to you." Lucas stated quietly. Peyton shook her head in disbelief.

"So you're saying that the conversation you were just having with Brooke didn't take place? I just imagined you apologizing for being selfish and asking for another chance?" Peyton asked, her frustration coming through in her voice.

"You were listening at my door? You were eavesdropping on my private conversations and you think you have a right to be angry with me?" Lucas exploded. Peyton's eyes widened in shock at his reaction. Sure, she shouldn't have listened in but there were far bigger trust issues here than that.

"I will not stay here and let you throw all of this back in my face!" Peyton said angrily, slamming his door behind her as she fled into the hallway. She stormed back down to her room and angrily began slamming her clothes into her bags.

She absolutely could not believe that Lucas would do this to her. She had really believed that she meant more to him than this. That he would go running back to Brooke and then try to hide it from her, showed her that he still had a lot of growing up to do.

"Mom, are you ready?" Lauren asked, coming into Peyton's room. Lauren stopped in her tracks, watching Peyton slam her things around.

"Yeah, just give me a second okay?" Peyton asked, giving Lauren a small smile. She didn't want to scare the girl.

"Sure, I'll wait for you in the lobby." Lauren agreed, taking her things back out of the room.

Peyton sunk down on the bed, burying her head in her hands. After this weekend she deserved a vacation.


	43. It's who you take home

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

Brooke hung up the phone, looking at it questioningly. She had accepted Lucas's apology for the way he'd ignored Charity, in favor of Peyton, all weekend. She wasn't ready to give him a second chance though. She had been in the process of telling him that she wanted Charity to stay with her, not Lucas, when he'd suddenly bid her goodbye and hung up. Shrugging, she began to throw the rest of her things into her luggage.

"Hey mom, do you care if I ride the bus back, instead of riding with you?" Charity asked, barging in. Brooke looked up, trying to keep the disappointment off of her face. She had been looking forward to catching up with her daughter.

"That's fine. Do you have any plans for tonight?" She asked lightly.

"Actually, a bunch of us were going to go to Tric, to celebrate, if that's cool?" Charity asked, as she reapplied her lip gloss in the mirror. Brooke knew it was her own fault that Charity never stayed home. That didn't make it hurt any less though.

"Yeah, have fun. I'll see you when you get home." Brooke said, plastering a smile on her face.

"Don't wait up!" Charity called over her shoulder as she left Brooke's room. Brooke slumped on the bed dejectedly. Her head snapped up as she heard a knock on her door. She smiled when she saw Jake stick his head in her room.

"Hey. I saw Charity skip off, I just thought I'd check in on you." He said, sitting down on the bed beside her.

"I'm Peachy keen, jellybean." She replied despondently. She and Jake had never really hung out in high school. He had always been Lucas's friend and Peyton's friend or boyfriend or whatever they were at the time. They'd always been cordial to each other but never exactly friendly.

"I know this is kinda awkward, but I thought since we're both sort of going through the same thing, I'd check and see how you were holding up…" He trailed off, at a loss for words. Brooke smiled, she was moved by his concern. Here he was, dealing with the loss of his long time girlfriend and yet he was concerned for Brooke, a girl he'd barely known in high school, and even less since.

"Thanks Jake. I appreciate it. I've been better, to be honest, but it's nothing I can't handle. What about you, how are you doing?" She asked. Jake nodded slowly.

"I'm doing better. It was tough at first, you know. I guess I couldn't make myself believe it. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here, if you need someone to talk to." He said, shrugging. Brooke leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks Jake. If you want to talk, you know where to find me." She said with a smile. Jake gave her a small smile and pulled the door shut behind him as he left the room. Brooke was pretty surprised at how things were turning out. She'd always known that you never truly knew who your friends were until the things got rough, but she had never expected Jake to be the one to stick with her.

Sighing she resigned herself to finishing her packing. She only had 15 minutes or so until the buses were leaving and she wanted to tell Charity goodbye. Quickly she grabbed her bags and drug them down the hallway to the elevator. She groaned under her breathe when she saw Lucas heading her way.

"Hey Brooke. Do you want some help?" He asked as he took a bag from her. She didn't, but it was too late to say so now.

"Thanks. So, what was up with the quick exit, when we were on the phone earlier?" She asked as they stepped into the elevator. Lucas looked at her and shrugged.

"It was Peyton. I think she overheard my conversation with you and assumed that we were getting back together. I can't deal with her right now, not if she's going to invade my privacy and then jump to conclusions, you know?" He asked. Brooke couldn't believe that he had the audacity to vent to her, his wife, about his problems with his mistress! She really wanted to give him a piece of her mind but she was so shocked, she was speechless.

The elevator doors opened and there stood Peyton. Peyton's mouth dropped slightly when she saw Brooke and Lucas, and Lucas holding her luggage, no less. Brooke took some twisted delight in the fact that Peyton was getting the wrong idea about them.

"Thanks for carrying my things Lucas. Would you mind helping me out to the car?" She asked sweetly. Lucas glanced from Peyton to Brook and back again. Peyton only glared at him.

"Sure, where are you parked?" He asked, as they walked past Peyton and out of the hotel. Brooke was sure that Peyton's eyes were drilling holes into her as they walked away, but she was walking away with Lucas and that was all that mattered to her.


	44. Don't know how, to get it back to good

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own characters!

The ride back to Tree Hill seemed almost anti-climatic to Lauren. While the rest of the squad celebrated, she sat in the back of the bus, by herself. She had worked so hard at keeping all of her conflicting emotions at bay this weekend, for the sake of the competition, and now that the competition was over, they all flooded back. On top of everything else she was worried about her mom. Peyton had gotten on the bus and stared out the window, not saying a word to anyone. That wasn't like her mother at all. Lauren had expected her mom to try and cheer her out of her "funk" as her mother put it, but she was off in a world of her own. That suited Lauren just fine for now though. She was struggling to process all the hurt, betrayal, and bitterness that the weekend had produced.

"Are you coming to Tric tonight?" Jenny asked, walking down the isle towards her. Lauren's shoulders slumped at the thought of putting on a big show of happiness. She knew that she had to, as captain, but she really would have preferred to stay home and mope.

"You know it." She said with as much excitement as she could muster. It obviously wasn't much and her words came out sounding flat. Jenny cocked an eyebrow and sat down beside her.

"You know, if you need to talk, I'm here. I know this weekend was pretty shitty, with Tyler and Charity and Lila and everything." Jenny said softly. Lauren only nodded, staring straight ahead. She and Jenny had been friends for a long time now and Jenny knew when to push her and when not to. Lauren didn't want to think about what next year would bring, with Jenny going off to college. Jenny gave her a long look before she stood up and returned to her seat.

Lauren wished that Jenny hadn't mentioned Tyler's name. Her feelings for him were all over the place. She still liked him, she still felt as much for him as she had two days ago, if not more. Yet, there was a part of her that wanted to hate him so badly, but she just couldn't. After Charity had told her that she had broken off her short fling with Tyler, Lauren had gone to talk to him. He had looked so broken hearted. It was like a slap in the face. He hadn't looked a tenth that upset when she had broken things off with him and yet here he was, nearly in tears, over a relationship that had spanned hours. She had tried to will herself to go and talk to him, to offer him some sympathy, but she couldn't find it in herself to do so. So she'd simply turned and walked away. She quickly brushed away the tears that came at the memory.

"Are you okay?" Charity asked, sitting down in the seat that Jenny had vacated only moments before. Lauren had been so caught up in thought that she hadn't seen Charity coming down the isle toward her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. What's up?" She asked, trying to gain composure.

"I just wanted to make sure that we were really okay. I mean, after everything that happened, I just, well I hope that we can try to be friends still. I know that you said everything was cool with us, I'm just hoping that wasn't just for the sake of the competition." Charity said hopefully. A part of Lauren wanted to be cruel and tell her where she could stick her friendship, but she didn't.

"Part of it was for the competition, but I'd like to try to be friends, eventually. Maybe even sisters, one day." Lauren said with a smile. Charity nodded slowly. Lauren was sure it wasn't the answer she was expecting, but Lauren wasn't one to trust easily and definitely not after having that trust broken, repeatedly.

"Are you coming out to Tric tonight?" She asked Charity, as the bus pulled back into the school's parking lot.

"Wouldn't miss it. Derek's coming too." She replied with a grin. Lauren laughed and shook her head at Charity.

"So you guys worked things out?" Lauren asked, knowing the answer.

"Yeah, he tried to be stubborn, but I'm irresistible, what can I say?" Charity stated, giggling. Lauren was envious of Charity sometimes. Nothing ever seemed to seriously faze her. She could do something disastrous and not even blink an eye. It was almost like she lived in a bubble. Lauren wished she could be so unaffected by things. Lauren tried to stay unemotional and detached, only because she felt things with such intensity when she didn't.

As they got off the bus, Lauren stood to the side to wait for her mom. Peyton was the last one off the bus.

"Took you long enough." Lauren joked, as she went to retrieve their bags. Her mom didn't respond. Lauren followed her gaze and saw Charity, talking with her mom and their dad.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Lauren asked, after they had loaded their things into the car. Her mom quickly brushed away a tear.

"Mom, please!" Lauren pleaded. She knew her mom was a very private person, but she had also never let Lauren see her hurting this badly.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?" Her mom replied hoarsely as they drove. Lauren stared out the window as they drove through town. Whatever happened, had to have been pretty bad to have affected her mother this way. As they pulled up to their house, she saw her dad sitting on the front porch, waiting for them. Her mother apparently didn't see him, because she got out of the car and opened the trunk and began carrying their things up to the house.

"Lucas?" Her mother asked softly, dropping their bags on the front lawn. Lauren thought that her mother almost looked like she was going to turn and run.

"I think we need to talk." Lucas stated, walking towards them. Lauren thought that this seemed like her cue to exit.

"I'm going to go and get ready to head to Tric." She mumbled as she picked up their bags and took them inside. She sincerely hoped that whatever her dad had done to hurt her mother, that he would make it right.


	45. Time will tell

_A/N: This is the end folks. It's been great and I so appreciate each and every review I've been given. If there is enough demand for a sequel then I will pick up the story a few months down the road and go from there. Let me know! J_

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!

"We need to talk." Lucas repeated, taking a step towards her. Peyton felt dazed and unnerved, seeing him standing on her front lawn. She had heard him tell Brooke that he had made a mistake and that he was sorry.

"What else is there to say Lucas? You realized that you belong with Brooke. I saw the two of you in the elevator. You looked happy. Just leave it, okay?" Peyton begged softly. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her composure, faced with the one person who had the ability to make her the happiest she'd ever been, or break her heart into a million pieces. He'd opted for the latter, she had accepted that and was trying to work through the fallout. She couldn't do that if he felt the need to explain. There was no explanation for what he'd done and if he thought he had one, she didn't think she wanted to hear it.

"You're too much Peyton, you know that? I've told you, repeatedly, that I want to be with you. What you heard, when you eavesdropped on my private conversation, was my apology to Brooke about the way I had ignored Charity and the things that she was dealing with. Of course, you couldn't just clarify what you heard, you had to assume the worst. I love you Peyton but I won't live like that. I've had more than my fill of relationships without trust and communication. If we're going to make this work then we need both and not just from me." Lucas replied heatedly.

Peyton blinked rapidly, taking in the information he'd just given her. Could it be possible that she had completely taken things out of context? She struggled to remember why it was that she had thought he was apologizing to Brooke for leaving her. No, he hadn't actually said those words, she'd just assumed that was what she was hearing.

"So you and Brooke aren't back together?" She asked, attempting to understand exactly what was happening.

"No, we never were. She and I were talking about Charity and our living arrangements. She was concerned about my lack of parenting this past weekend and I admit, I was less concerned about Charity than I was about you and Jake, and I was apologizing for that. That was apparently what you overheard." Lucas said, confirming the fact that Peyton had been undeniably wrong.

She had never, not once in her life, ever wished so hard that the earth would open up and swallow her whole. She felt so stupid for assuming that Lucas had been running back to Brooke at the first sight of trouble with Peyton. Granted, that was usually what had happened in their long history together.

"I'm so sorry Lucas. I guess when I heard you saying you were sorry and you wanted another chance, it felt really familiar and I assumed that you were going to run back to her, again. You are right though, we can't have a real relationship without trust and communication and I don't think I can trust you with my heart right now. Not when you aren't even officially divorced from Brooke. I want to be with you and I want it to last forever and right now I guess I don't feel certain that it can or will." Peyton admitted, fighting back tears. Lucas started to speak, to defend their relationship. Peyton shook her head, and his words ceased. She would not give in on this. Not this time.

"No Lucas. I'm right and you know it. If we do this now, we are building our relationship on deceptions and dishonesty. I want to be with you more than anything and if you really want to be with me, then let's let the ink dry on your divorce papers. Let's do this the right way, in the right time. Okay?" She asked, taking his hand in hers. Lucas nodded, the resignation evident on his face.

"Fine. I do know that you're right, it's just that we've been waiting for so long to finally be together. I just don't want to wait any longer Peyton. I want us to be a family." Lucas said, his voice raw with emotion. Peyton quickly brushed a tear away. She wanted the same thing, she just wanted to know that she was more than the proverbial 'forbidden fruit' and only time would tell that.


	46. Authors Note

Authors Note

Just to clarify, when I said I might pick the sequel up, months down the line, that was in reference to the story, not to when I might write the sequel. I chose to end the story there for many reasons. Mostly because I didn't want to have to write "filler" chapters to get to where it would be possible for Lucas and Peyton to have a relationship, and I detest stories that continue 6 months later (unless it's a flashback type thing lol.) So yeah, I hope to write a sequel, I just want to make sure you guys aren't sick of the story yet! ;)

Update 6-11: Sequel is started. It is called Heartbreak Echoes. Look for it! J


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